Fullmetal Alchemist: Iron Rose
by Iron Rose Writer
Summary: It's been 20 years since Fullmetal defeated the homunculi. His daughter Ana, going by the State Alchemist code name Iron Rose, has set out on her own mission to make her own mark on the world. With her friends Savon Mustang, Naomi Reed and Jack Slate, she must fight an evil that is after her soul. {Mostly OC but features Roy x Riza, Al x Mei, Ed x Winry, Scar, and Ling} HIATUS
1. Iron Rose Alchemist

**A/N: Hello! Iron Rose here. Some of you may know this (whether you do or not is entirely irrelevant) but I have rewritten this story. My original story was in script format because my original intention for this story was an audio drama, but when I received a review telling me that it was against the rules to publish this in script form I knew I had to do a rewrite. (Thanks again!) I was already debating to change to prose when I received this review, in order to improve flow and style, so this honestly was not much of an inconvenience. Anywho, if you have any questions, comments, concerns or snide remarks leave them in the reviews. Thanks. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ana Elric stood with her friends Naomi and Savon, listening to the debriefing that Lieutenant Colonel Douglas was giving. She was having trouble paying attention. This was just too exciting. Her first real mission. She noticed Savon and how nervous he was. He had every right to be, she supposed, seeing as his fighting skills were next to none. He had only been working on his alchemy for six months.

"Alright men, I'm sure you have all heard by now what the mission is. But for those of you who are slower than most, I'm going to go over the plan one more time. We are here to crush a slave trafficking ring. It's led by this man," Douglas held up mugshot with a picture of a short, fat, balding man. "He is known only by the name Radian. Your goal is to arrest him. Iron Rose will be leading the raid."

A few minutes later, Ana, aka Iron Rose, and a team of 23 soldiers entered the building. "Naomi, take Savon and 10 soldiers and go to the left. I'll take rest and go right."

"Yes ma'm," Naomi gave a mock salute the younger girl. She took charge and said, "Alright, you heard her. Let's move."

* * *

Naomi, Savon and the 10 soldiers crept, well attempted to creep, down the hallway. Naomi was astonished at how noisy men got. It was a stealth mission, for heaven's sake. The group turned a corner and saw a teenager blocking their path.

"Oh, great. Here we go again," she sighed.

The teen facing them was a boy no older than 17. He was extremely skinny and unkempt. He looked as though he had been sleeping in a bush or a box. He had light brown, almost auburn, hair and his eyes were sky blue. His arms and legs were covered in small scratches and bruises. He obviously got into a lot of fights. On his face, he had a small scar, about two inches long. It curved from the bottom tip of his right eyebrow and around his eye, as if someone had once tried to cut his eye away. Naomi could see the boy's muscles tensing as they stopped.

Savon, on the other hand, was over the moon with excitement, "YES! A fight! Let's do this thing!" He charged forward and the teenager flicked open a lighter, sending a ball of fire at Savon. With a loud crash the boy was sent flying through a wall.

* * *

On the other side of the building Ana's team heard the crash. "What was that?"

The lieutenant with her was not as worried, "I bet Reed and Mustang just ran into a bit of trouble. I'll send someone to check it out. McClaire?"

Ana shook her head. "Nah. I'll do it."

* * *

Savon crashed through another wall and doused the flames with water from his canteen.

Naomi called through the hole in the wall, "Savon how long do you think you can keep this up?" All she got in response was Savon attempting to catch his breath. "You need a break. Ana will have my head if you get hurt."

"Yeah, I know," he waved off her concern. "I'm just buying time 'till Ana gets here."

Blue light appeared on the wall carving out a large rectangle. The piece of the wall fell forward and a girl with cardinal red hair, a black leather jacket and knee-high combat boots, stepped through the newly created hole in the wall. "What the hell is going on over here?!"

Naomi sighed at Ana's obvious theatrics, "This kid's in the way." She pointed at the teen blocking their path.

The teen in question was rather offended at this statement. He had a name, not that he felt any inclination to tell these people that. Jack watched the group in interest. The ginger was obviously the leader. She was talking to the soldier girl with short blonde hair. That one was scary. She wore a lavender high-necked tank top and carried a huge rifle. Not to mention the two handguns in her shoulder holsters as well as one on her ankle. The leader lectured the kid, well he was probably 15 or 16, the one they were calling Savon.

"Savon," said the red head. "When we get back, remind me to get you a new alchemy teacher. Cronwell is not doing his job." She whistled for attention from the rest of the group. Once she had it, she continued, "Okay people. New plan. I'll take care of this kid, you finish the mission. I'll catch up when I'm done here."

Much to Jack's surprise the soldiers listen to the teen and did what she said without question. He guessed she must have proven herself to be pretty powerful, wherever she was from.

"If you think I'm gonna be easy to beat, you're so wrong," he said.

"I disagree." Ana clapped, making a circle a with her arms, placed her hand on the wall. As a result a giant fist came from the other side of the hallway, slamming into the boy blocking their path and sending him flying into the wall. The same wall he had thrown Savon into moments before. Serves him right, she thought.

Turning to the soldiers, who had been standing there in stunned silence, "Rest of you…...GO!" she shouted. She stepped into the hole Jack had made when he broke through the drywall. Her golden eyes pierced the darkness of the room. "Now back to business."

As the ginger moved towards Jack, she said, "Now then I don't think we were properly introduced. My name's Ana. And you are?"

"What's it to you?" he asked. He did not trust this Ana person.

"Nothing really. I just like to know who I'm fighting. Particularly if I'm going to be arresting them later."

"You're not funny."

"I wasn't trying to be. Knowing names means less paperwork."

"The only reason for knowing your opponent's name is so you can brag about beating them." Jack used this time to draw a small transmutation circle on the wall behind him. When he placed his hands on it, part of the wall exploded covering both alchemists in white drywall dust. "But you can only brag if you beat someone important." He shot a stream of flame from his lighter. The heat made Ana stumble back. She hit the wall, hard. She slumped unconscious to the ground. As Jack started to head away, he could not resist one more barb at the unconscious girl. "And as importance goes, you aren't."

The boy only took two more steps before he sunk into the liquified floor. "What the-?"

"What do you mean I'm not important? The most important person in the room is the one you're fighting!"

"Psshh. But I still won."

"Not from where i'm standing."

"You cheated."

"This is war, kid, you can't cheat in war."

"But you were down!"

"Always, ALWAYS, check if the enemy is FULLY incapacitated. Never assume." Great, thought Ana. Now he's pouting. "Though I must say you're pretty good, but obviously not good enough to beat me." The boy just glared at her. "How 'bout we make a deal? I'll free you and you take me to where Radian's hiding out."

Jack could not understand. Why was this girl helping him? Well he supposed it wasn't really helping, more like manipulating, but still they had just met. She knew nothing about him. Jack narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"It's just equivalent exchange," she said. But Jack refused to answer. Ana just sighed and started to walk away.

"Fine! Deal." Jack cried out.

"Great!" Ana immediately clapped her hands, touched the floor and Jack climbed out of the floor. "Lead the way." This guy's pretty good, if only he weren't so stubborn, Ana thought. I could ask him anyway…

As they approached Radian's room, Jack got more nervous with every step. He should not have brought Ana here. He was going to be in so much trouble. But as they got closer he supposed it did not matter anymore. Both alchemists could already hear shots being fired from behind the big wood doors.

"Here you go. The master's inside," he said.

"The what?" she asked, taken aback by Jack's sudden change in attitude.

Jack looked away. What was he thinking! Calling Radian "master"! Embarrassed, Jack corrected himself, "I mean, Radian."

"Oh. Right…." There was an awkward pause. Then Ana was back to her usual cheery self. "Alrighty then let's do this thing." Her hands went together and the doors shattered.

* * *

Naomi was in the middle of a small firefight between Radian's goons and the Amestrian military. She, Savon and 4 other soldiers were pinned behind a long oak dining table. She could not get a clear shot off from her vantage point. She was about to ask Savon to wash out the room, when the doors blew in.

"Show-off," she muttered, knowing exactly who it was.

Everyone in the room froze in shock. Ana surveyed the scene. There was Naomi and Savon cowering behind a table. She supposed it was best for Naomi to be there, seeing as she only had her guns, but Savon was an alchemist, he could do better.

"Come on Savon! First this kid," she pointed at the teen who had followed her in. "And now this?!"

"Sorry!" Savon said, voice cracking.

It was at that moment that Radian himself decided to come in. Just like Jack, Radian knew nothing of why these people had invaded his base of operations but they would come to regret it. However Radian had seen what the ginger had done to the door and he knew alchemy when he saw it.

"You, boy," he called to Jack. "Come here and defend your master."

The boy took a tentative step forward, then, much to Radian's surprise, the alchemist girl stopped him. She put out an arm in front of his property and then she turned to address him.

"Sorry, I already fought this kid. I have no intention of doing so again. Anyway, men should fight their own battles." She added in that last bit because the guy obviously had a big ego.

Radian fell straight for her trap. "Who do you think you are?! How dare you tell my property what to do!?"

"WHO AM I?!" Ana pulled out her silver pocket watch. "I'm the Iron Rose Alchemist, Major Ana Edwards. That's who."

Still furious, Ana shouted, "SAVON!"

"Ma'm!"

"Hear that?" she asked. Savon shook his head. He did not know she was talking about. "The pipes. They're full of water. When I give the signal, I want you to flood this room. Got it?"

"On it."

"Naomi. Cover him."

"Fine. But what about this kid?" she asked.

"Who?" she spun around trying to figure out who Naomi was talking about. Then she saw Jack. "Oh, right…..um…..You stand there and look pretty."

Jack blanched at the suggestion. "WHAT?!"

But Ana's attention was back on her target, Radian. "Bring it." She charged him and Radian jumped out of the way. He was surprisingly quick for such a pudgy man. Ana tried to soften the floor around him, but he pulled out a revolver. Radian fired two rounds at her, forcing her to dodge. Ana came up against a wall as the man fired a third round into her left bicep. It went straight through and Ana almost collapsed from the pain.

"Damn," she swore. She touched the wound and her hand came away covered in blood. Radian fired another round but she dodged. Ana pushed through the pain and put her hands together. She placed her good hand to the ground. He fired again, the bullet scraping her left hip. Ana grimaced as stone hands rose up grabbing for the man who shot her.

"SAVON! NOW!" Ana screamed.

That was the signal. Savon did not hesitate. He pulled all the water from the entire building into this room.

"Run!" he shouted. They all did, even Radian's goons. Nobody wanted to be caught in the flood spilling into the room. Savon looked back to see his handy work and saw Radian fire his sixth round. It went into Ana's thigh and she went down.

"ANA!" he screamed. A shape blew past him. It stopped in front of Ana's fallen form. It was the guy Savon had fought earlier. What was he doing?

Jack heard Savon's scream and turned to see Ana fall. He could not let this girl drown, not after what she had done for him. He was free because of Ana. He stood between her and giant flood. Jack pulled out his lighter. He lit it and a huge ring of fire surrounded him and the girl he was trying to save. Then Savon was by his side. Reinforcing Jack's wall of fire by pushing back the water where the wall was weakest. The blonde gunner girl was there too. She picked up Ana and piggy backed her out. Savon and Jack quickly followed.

Out in the hallway, a barely conscious Ana was demanding to be put down. When she saw Savon though, she said, "Savon, forget what I said about a new teacher. You're doing fine." And with that she slumped against Naomi. Completely out of energy.

"But I need a new teacher…." whined Savon.

* * *

Back in camp Ana woke up to Naomi's sisterly hovering.

"Ow," Ana touched her shoulder and tried to sit up. "Ow, ow, ow."

"Don't sit up," Naomi commanded. "You need to rest."

"How long was I out?"

"About 2 hours. You heal remarkably fast."

Jack watched this interaction from the edge of the doorway of the medical tent. After making their way out of Radian's bunker, the blonde immediately brought Ana here. The doctors took Ana in and stitched up the wounds. They decided against removing the bullet in her leg, claiming that it was not harming anything and that surgery would take longer to heal from. Both Naomi and Savon knew that Ana would hate that. After the doctors finished with the alchemist they attended to the other soldiers who had gotten various scrapes and bruises from Radian's men. The fact that Ana was the only one with serious injuries did not surprise Jack in the slightest. It was well known fact that most of Radian's henchmen were only good with blunt objects.

While they waited for Ana to wake up, Savon tried to make small talk. The younger teen was annoying Jack to death. The only useful things he had learned was that the gunner girl's name was Naomi Reed and that she was 18. Ana was 16 and was about to turn 17. He nearly cried in joy when Naomi told Savon to shut up. Soon after the smells in the medical tent started going to his head, making him feel nauseous, so he decided to wait outside.

Then Ana broke his train of thought with a question. "You ready to tell me your name?"

By reflex he answered, "It's Jack, Jack Slate."

"Well then Jack, I'd like to make a new deal. If that's okay…?"

"What are the terms?" He still did not fully.

"You can join my personal team," she gestured towards Naomi and Savon. "Or-"

A voice from outside interrupted her, "There he is! Arrest that kid!"

"Or you can go with them. To prison," she finished.

Jack did not know what to say. On one hand he did not really trust these Amestrians, on the other, he really did not want to go to jail.

Savon, being helpful, said, "You better choose quick." The soldiers were almost to the medical tent.

"Yes. I'll join your team."

"Then please step inside."

When the soldiers arrived, one asked, "Where is he? Where's the kid?"

"Doesn't matter anymore. Jack's with me now," Ana replied.

The soldier looked down at the girl standing before him with her arm in a sling. "Sure," he said. "On whose authority?"

"Mine, as a STATE ALCHEMIST!"

Finally realizing who he was talking to, the soldier saluted and stepped back. "Ah. Yes, of course. Good night, Iron Rose."

Ana gave the soldier a curt nod. She turned inside.

"What's for dinner? I'm starving," she said.

"Why does everyone keep calling me a kid? I'm almost 17!" said Jack.


	2. The First Deal

Ana blinked. All around her was white. Except for the giant stone doors. She made it. She was actually here. At her portal of truth. But where was-

"Hello Ana Elric," said a mischievous voice.

Ana spun around towards the voice. She spotted a white figure surrounded by a black shadow. She could not hide the surprise in her voice as she said, "It's you…Truth."

The being grinned as it heard its name. "That is one of my many names. But tell me how do you know that?"

"My uncle, Alphonse, used to us tell stories about his adventures. And sometimes he talked about the 'Truth'."

"Ah. Little Alphonse Elric. That must make you the daughter of Edward."

The knowledge of the white being was starting to creep Ana out. Not to mention that it looked just like her. Except for the face. The creature had no facial features, save for a wide grin. But Truth just kept talking.

"Ah, yes, Edward Elric. The boy who beat me," Truth mused. "But enough of the past, tell me, why are you here?"

"I wanted to see it," Ana whispered.

"What was that?" asked Truth.

A little louder this time, "I wanted to see it."

"Wanted to see what?"

"My portal of truth."

Truth laughed. Edward's daughter was just as amusing as the boy himself. "Did you now? Well it's right behind you."

Ana turned towards the big stone doors. She reached out to touch the carvings that decorated the doors.

"Do you like what you see?" Truth inquired.

Ana turned to look back at the white figure. "What sort of payment would I have to make to go through?"

"Ah, so we already know the rules as well. It depends," Truth gave Ana a smile that sent shivers down her spine. "What are you willing to pay?"

* * *

"Ana! Ana! Wake up!"

Ana woke to her dad's voice. He was shaking her. What happened? He sounded worried. Why was he-?

Then it came flooding back. The knowledge. The power. The portal. Truth. Then she remembered what she had done to get there. Her head hurt.

"Dad?"

"What were you thinking?! You could've been killed! You're 14 years old Ana! What if-" started Winry.

"Mom, I'm fine." She had not even realized her mom was in the room. Ana tried to sit up but fell back down as a wave of dizziness crashed over her.

"What were you-? A human transmutation circle….." Ana knew better than to hope her dad would not recognise the patterns on the floor.

Even without alchemy he was still the best at creating transmutation circles. Ed had done numerous jobs for Fuhrer Mustang. He created the first Anti-Alchemy transmutation circle, if an alchemist stood inside they could not transmute. Mustang had used that little experiment to build an alchemist prison. It was called "the Inferno", or something. The regular ones were not strong enough to house the more dangerous alchemists. Ed had also fixed the Fuhrer's little "moisture" problem.

"Who taught you this!?" Ed demanded.

"Nobody taught me anything. And for your information," she retorted, "this isn't a human transmutation circle."

"Then what is it?"

"Part of it is a human transmutation. But it isn't designed to create a homunculus," she said quickly. "It's only purpose was to take me to the Truth."

Ed was horrified. And understandably so. His daughter wanted to see Truth? "The Truth? How did you even find out about that demon?"

"Uncle Alphonse told me about the Truth, the portals, everything."

"That brat," Ed said under his breath. "But didn't he tell you about the cost? Why would you try it if you knew the risks?"

Ana was annoyed by Ed's attitude. "Dad, that doesn't matter anymore. It's over and done with. And we can't change anything now."

* * *

Ana was leaving. She had to. She just could not stay in this little farm town any longer. She loved her parents but she needed out. She needed more. It had been two years since Ana had visited Truth and since that day….

Well, things were different. She had grown distant from her older brother Liam and closer to her dad. She and Ed had sparred, much to Winry's dismay. Ed had also become more accepting of her desire to practice alchemy. The part of the reason she had wanted to visit Truth was because Ed had refused to teach her. Before all she had to go on was Uncle Al, Aunt May and some stolen books from her dad's study, now she knew more than ever.

But she wanted more.

"Are you sure this is the choice you want to make?" Ed asked.

They were standing outside their home in Resembol. Ana was about to leave for the train station. She was traveling to East City and then on to Central. She was packed and ready to go. There was no turning back.

"Yeah," she said.

"Why?" Winry asked, almost in tears.

"Mom-" Ana began.

"Winry, she has her reasons," said Ed.

Winry turned and ran into the house, trying to hide her tears. Ed hated to see his wife cry. He hated it when she was sad. She always said she cried because he could not. She was right. When it came to Winry, she was always right. He could not cry. He would not cry. He had to be the strong one. For her. For Al. For Ana.

"Dad, tell Mom I'm sorry," said Ana. Ed could tell she was just as upset as Winry. Hell, she was probably upset because of Winry.

"What are you apologizing for? This is your choice. Your future," he said. "Just remember, this is the point of no return. You know what Al and I did when we left."

That made Ana laugh. "I know, Dad. And don't worry I'm not going to burn down the house. But I'm not coming back until I know the truth."

Ed had no idea what "truth" she was talking about. Ana had already gone through her portal what truth was there left to find? But she obviously had an idea in that head of her's, so he might as well support her.

He ruffled her newly colored red hair. He had taught her that little trick. And instantly regretted it. Ed already missed her gold hair.

"I love you, Ana," he said as he pulled her into a hug.

"I love you too Dad," she said before pulling away. "Now I gotta go or I'll miss the train."

Ed watched as his daughter run down the hill, away from her home. Her red ponytail bouncing and swinging as she ran.

"Good luck!" he called. She turned a little and waved, before starting again on the road she had chosen.

My little girl.

* * *

In his office in Central Command, Roy Mustang waited. He was thinking about what to do with his son, Savon. The boy wanted to be a state alchemist but he had absolutely no skill with flame alchemy.

Savon's my son, how could he not be good at flame alchemy? Mustang wondered. His musing was interrupted when one of the large wooden doors opened. A soldier stood there. He cleared his throat.

"Ana Edwards. For her State Alchemist Certification."

Ana walked through the door that the soldier held open for her. Mustang was a little shocked to see Fullmetal's daughter standing there. She looked different from when he last saw her, but the golden eyes gave her away. She could change everything about herself but anyone who knew Ed would recognise her right away. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail and unsurprisingly, she wore street clothes. Her father had done the same. She wore a bright blue, button-up blouse with the sleeves rolled up to her elbow. The blouse was untucked and her legs were covered by a pair of those new-fangled things that Savon was always going on about…. What were they called…? Jeans. The pants were tucked into a pair of combat boots that came up to her knees.

Mustang thanked the soldier and dismissed him. The soldier saluted, left and closed the door behind him. As soon as the soldier was gone, he turned his attention to Fullmetal's daughter.

"Sit down," he commanded. Mustang searched through the all the papers sitting on his desk. Finding what he was looking for, he held up a manila envelope. "Ah, yes. Here we are. This is your State Certification." He handed it to Ana.

Ana opened it up and scanned the contents. She skimmed the fancy piece of paper that made her an official State Alchemist. Finally she saw it. Her code name.

"Iron Rose? That's my code name?" she asked.

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

Ana thought for a second, then said, "No. Not at all. It actually sound pretty intimidating. I'll take it!"

Mustang rolled his eyes. She is just like her father, he thought. But he said, "Good. You'll find the company you were assigned to in there. As well as your commanding officer. You are required to report to them when you leave here."

"Okay. Then if that's everything, I guess I'll head out." Ana stood up and made to go.

She was halfway across the room when Mustang said, "Excuse me, but aren't you forgetting something?"

"What? No. I don't think so."

Mustang picked up a silver State Alchemist pocket watch. It dangled lazily from his hand. Ana facepalmed. She rushed back over to the desk and attempted to grab the trinket. But Mustang pulled it out of her reach.

"I don't think you understand what exactly you're getting yourself into Miss Edwards."

Ana raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I'm sorry Fuhrer Mustang, but you don't know me or who I am or what I've already been through to get-"

"You misunderstand me, Ana. Alchemy is a vocation. A calling. A calling from god to find out the truth of the world. It goes beyond simply transmuting basic needs and wants. It'd understanding the flow of the Universe. All is one and one is all. That truth is what drives every alchemist to discover new, better, more effective ways to transmute. State Alchemists recognize this calling and pursue it."

"I know that sir, but-"

Mustang brought his voice down until it was barely above a whisper. "I know who you really are, Ana Elric, and I'll keep your secret just like I did your father's. And I'll tell you the same thing I told him, 'As long as your little secret stays under wraps, we both win'."

Ana wasn't even surprised by the fact that Mustang had seen through her disguise. She knew her eyes would give her away. Not many people, as in nobody, still had Xeresian eyes. What did surprise her was how Mustang had dealt with her dad.

"Y-You blackmailed him!?"

"Call it what you will. But I'm serious. I can't help you if you get found out. Lying to the military is never a good idea."

"Okay. I get it," Ana said, a bit surly.

"Good. Dismissed."

Ana snatched the pocket watch out of Mustang's open palm and headed towards the door. Once she reached it she called over her shoulder, "By the way, Dad still wants you to pay him for fixing your little 'rain' problem."

"GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!" he yelled.

* * *

Ana was walking down a hallway in Central Command. She was looking for the commanding officer Mustang had told her about. She was on the third floor of the building. She glanced up at the signs on the doors every once in a while. The officer was named Amelia Rackem and was apparently ranked a colonel. She found the right door and knocked.

The door was opened by a man in his late twenties. He wore the standard issue Amestrian military uniform. His hair was short, brown and spiky. He looked down at Ana with a bored expression as he asked, "Do you need something?"

"Um…..I'm here to see the colonel," said Ana.

"Rackem, there's some kid here to see-"

"I'll have you know that I-"

A shout came from inside, "Let 'em in Jaroue."

Ana stuck out her tongue and Jaroue sighed. But he let her in.

When she entered the room, she saw a woman about the same age as the man who had let her in sitting at a desk. If Ana had to take a guess, this would be Rackem.

"Who are you? And what do you want?" the lady asked. She obviously wanted nothing to do with the girl standing in her office.

Ana decided to take offence at the woman's tone of voice. She marched up to the desk and proudly stated, "My name is Ana Edwards. And I was sent here by the Fuhrer."

"The Fuhrer?" asked one of the men in the room

"Warrant officer..." Rackem said in a warning tone. The man turned his attention back to his empty desk. Rackem turned back to Ana. "Why?"

"He said I was to report to my commanding officer after I received my State Certification. Your name was on the paper." Ana held out the piece of paper that had led her to Rackem's office.

The blonde woman snatched it from her hand skimmed it and shouted, "CADMUS!"

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked cautiously. He was almost cowering in the presence of his superior.

"Why was I not informed of this?"

"Um...well...err...I-"

Rackem gave a frustrated sigh. "Go find it, Cadmus."

Cadmus turned tail and practically ran from the room.

"Now then Iron Rose, let me introduce you to my subordinates." She pointed to each in turn. "That's my 1st lieutenant, Blake Jaroue, 2nd lieutenants, Sara McCall and Felix Smart, and warrant officers, Jason Arnott and Arthur Cadmus, who just left."

Just then a knock came from the door. It opened to show a young woman carrying a large rifle on her back. She was barely 18. The girl had blonde hair and wore a military uniform.

"Colonel, you wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Ah, Reed." An evil smile appeared on Rackem's face. "I'm glad you're here. I have an assignment for you."

"Me?"

"Don't sound so incredulous. It doesn't suit you," said Jaroue.

She just rolled her eyes.

"I'm putting you on bodyguard duty," said the Colonel.

"Bodyguard? With all due respect Colonel, I'm not trained as a bodyguard. I don't-"

"Nonsense. You'll do fine. This is your charge, Ana Edwards, also known as the Iron Rose Alchemist." She pulled Ana in front of the other girl.

Ana was shocked. "What?! I don't need-"

"An alchemist!? HER?!" said the blonde.

"Yeah I'm an alchemist. You got a problem with that?!"

The rifle girl took a deep breath and turned her focus on Rackem. "Why am I babysitting a kid alchemist?"

Ana was offended. "HEY!"

"Naomi, may I remind you that as your superior you are required to follow my orders without question," said Rackem sternly.

"You didn't ORDER me to do anything."

"Well I Am NOW!" When Naomi did not respond, Rackem sighed and said, "Out. Both of you. You're dismissed."

Ana and Naomi walked out, glaring at each other.


	3. The Alchemist's Persuits

**A/N: Sorry this is late but I don't care. I was super busy doing nothing important all week long. So there. Nobody complained anyway so obviously nobody cares. I love cats! I own one so don't go accusing me of anything! But for those of you who don't….Ha! Anywho, here's what you came for. (BTW episode 2 was a flashback episode, for those of you didn't already figure that out. This one doesn't directly follow it.) Enjoy!**

* * *

Ana and Naomi were walking down a hallway in Central Command when Jaroue approached them.

"Hey! Ana!" he called. "Colonel Rackem wants to see you."

Ana was not in the mood to deal with her superior officer at the moment. She had a terrible night's sleep. Not to mention that her leg and shoulder were still sore from getting shot in Rixwell Point.

"Does she now?!" Ana said, annoyed.

Jaroue and Naomi both sighed at Ana's ridiculous behavior.

"Yes. She does," said Jaroue.

"Just go," sighed Naomi.

Ana pouted. "Fine," she said as she stomped away.

* * *

"Iron Rose."

"Colonel."

Ana sent a glare at Rackem. The Colonel simply returned it with a bored expression.

"Do you have a report compiled yet?"

Ana face turned as red as her hair. This was not what she had been expecting. "Sort of…."

"Sort of?" Rackem asked condescendingly.

"Yeah. Anyway, maybe I could-"

"Do you and Jack have a place to stay?"

"Huh? No," said Ana, confused at the sudden change in topic.

"I know a couple who would be willing to host you. Their names are Bernard and Lori Alter."

"Who-? What-? Why?" Ana was completely lost.

"Why are they allowing you to stay with them? Or why did I bother to find someone?"

"Ugh. Never mind."

Rackem just shook her head. "Good. Smart and McCall will take both of you to their house. It's a small distance from the city. But it should be a good place for you two to practice your alchemy."

"Okay." Ana turned and walked to the door. She opened it to find Jack and Naomi standing there.

"Um…W-We...were-" Jack stuttered.

Rackem came up behind Ana, who had frozen at the door. "You know, eavesdropping is not a trustworthy quality," she said. A cruel smile broke across her face as Jack's face turned red.

Suddenly they heard shouting coming from down the hall. The group of four turned to see Savon running, clutching a fuzzy ball in his arms.

"Look! I found a-" Savon tripped over his own feet, sending the fuzzy ball flying. The ball grew legs, a tail, and a head with whiskers.

"CAT!" Rackem screeched.

A second later, the cat's claws dug into the colonel's uniform.

"AHH!" she screamed. "Get-achoo-IT-achoo-OFF! ACHOO! JAROUE!"

Jaroue grabbed the cat and pulled it off her. He held it as far away from himself as he could. Ana started cracking up. Savon's jaw was practically on the floor. Jaroue walked over to the window and dropped the fuzzy creature.

"Your face is really red," Savon said, amazed. "I never thought a head could swell up that much…."

"Get out!" Rackem rasped.

* * *

"Here we are," said Felix Smart.

'Here' also known as the house of Bernard and Lori Alter was in the middle of nowhere. Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but only a little bit. The Alter's house sat on a 5 acre property. The house itself was huge. Four floors tall, wrap around porch, fancy french doors, a third floor balcony, a tower, a widow's walk on the roof, and it was all painted the most hideous shade of yellow Ana had ever seen.

"So why are we here?" asked Jack.

"We're staying here until further notice," Ana replied. Because Rackem doesn't think we can take care of ourselves, Ana thought.

Jack started to panic. "Wait….what? You were serious about all that? No….no…. I- We-"

"Calm down little man," said Sara McCall. "Nobody's dying. Don't worry about it. Just breathe."

Jack took a deep breath but he was still nervous. "Let's just get this over with."

"That's the spirit!" exclaimed Smart. He forcefully patted Jack on the back.

* * *

"Yes, yes. That's exactly what we told Amelia, isn't it Bernard?" said Lori, cheerfully.

They were all sitting in the Alter's kitchen. Ana had taken an immediate liking to Bernard. He was in his early forties and quite tall. He had close cropped platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Lori could not have been more different. She was in her late twenties and only about 5 feet tall. Not that Ana minded being the same height. Lori also had dark, curly, brunette hair that reached to the middle of her back. But she looked exhausted. She had bags under her chocolate eyes. Ana wondered what could possibly be keeping the woman up all night.

"To the letter. Lori and I never managed to have any children our own but we always wanted a big family. And you two are alchemists we can teach you a few of our secrets as well," Bernard said. He winked conspiratorially at Ana.

"You're both alchemists?" Ana said, surprised.

"Of course, sweetheart. We wouldn't have asked to house you otherwise," Lori said with a small, tinkling laugh.

McCall gave a short chuckle. "With the amount of trouble in the West, the colonel thought it best for you two to stay with other alchemists in case of an emergency."

Ana rolled her eyes. "Isn't that what Naomi's for?"

Smart cracked up. And the rest of the table was laughing too. However the laughter was brought to a close when Jack's stomach gave a loud growl. Lori turned a questioning look at Jack, but spying the kitchen clock she exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, Bernard, look at the time. It's way past dinner. And I completely forgot to bring out the food we prepared."

"No. Please, I'm fine-" Jack started to say but was interrupted by Ana's even louder stomach.

Lori laughed a little more and left to prepare dinner. Ana's face turned a light pink. Smart and McCall stood up.

Smart said, "If you're going to be having dinner, we'll leave you guys to get settled. We've still got work to do back at Central HQ."

The two soldiers leave the room, chatting amiably with Bernard as he lead them out.

* * *

Back in the kitchen Lori let out a large sigh in frustration. "Well that's annoying," she said, looking down at the oven.

Ana and Jack turn to look at her in confusion.

"What's wrong?" asked Ana.

"The oven won't heat up. It's the third time this week," she said. Under her breath she muttered, "Bernard needs to call that repairman."

"Um….If all we need to do is warm up food I know a way we could do it…." Jack said shyly.

"What?" exclaimed Ana and Lori in unison.

* * *

Twenty minutes later…..

"Jack. You're a genius." The amazement was clear in Ana's voice.

"This is almost better that cooking in an oven," exclaimed Bernard excitedly. "It saves gas. And it doesn't heat the house up ten extra degrees! Amazing!" He threw his arms up in the air to emphasize his point. "Where did you come up with this?"

Jack glanced over at the stove. Over two slow lit burns sat a cookie sheet covered in tin foil.* To be honest, Jack had never tried it over a stove before, only ever over an open fire with a dutch oven. He looked back a Bernard when he answered.

"Well the original idea wasn't mine," he said, "I just helped 'cause I was the only one who could use fire alchemy. The regular fires always burnt the food, so they'd have me control and keep the fires down while they heated up their food."

"Still! It's a great idea," Ana said. She noticed the resentment in Jack's voice as he talked but did not say anything. If wanted to tell her about it, he would.

Jack looked down at his lap. "Yeah. I guess."

"Thank you for sharing it with us, Jack," said Lori. "If it wasn't for you, we'd all be going to bed hungry."

"Speaking of beds," Bernard cut in, "we should show you kids your rooms. And, no, your rooms are not next to each other. They aren't even on the same floor. And we have incredibly creaky stairs."

"Wait. Ana, you need to drink your milk," Lori commanded.

After a long pause Ana glared at Lori and said, "No."

"What did you just say young lady?" Lori said crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows.

"I won't drink it," Ana said with a flip of her ponytail.

"Really? This is a hill you're willing to die on?"

"I won't drink it. I hate milk. It's disgusting."

Bernard sighed, "Now Ana, you have to drink milk in order to-"

Jack swiped the glass off the table and chugged it down. "There," he said, "now her milk's gone."

Ana smiled triumphantly. Lori, on the other hand, gave a half-hearted sigh.

"Oh well. It's for the best," she said. "Bernard, why don't you show them upstairs? I'll clean up the kitchen and bring up their luggage when I'm done."

"Beat you to it, sweetheart," he replied. "There was surprisingly little for two teenagers. But I'll show them up."

Bernard guided Ana and Jack into the main hallway. They went up a staircase just as a phone began to ring. Ana looked up at the numerous certificates and awards on the wall. Almost all of them belonged to Lori. Ana guessed that the woman must be some type of alchemical genius. She wondered once again what type of alchemy she studied. She turned her attention back to Bernard as they reached the second floor.

"That's Lori's and my bedroom, and that's the bathroom," he said, pointing at two different doors, "and this is where Ana will be staying. Jack, you're another flight up."

Ana opened up the door. As she looked around, she exclaimed, "This is so cool!"

"Well why don't you check it out while I show Jack up stairs," Bernard chuckled.

"Sure. G'night," Ana said as she shut the door in their faces.

* * *

"This room is so amazing!" said Ana to herself. She flopped backward onto the bed with a sigh. "I wish Liam could see it." She walked over to the window and peeked through the curtains. "Wow. This view is amazing. I haven't seen this many stars since leaving Resembol."

Ana was just about to turn away from the window when she saw the lights flicker on outside. It was Lori. And it looked to Ana that she was in a hurry to get somewhere. But where could Lori possibly be going at 11 p.m.? Ana thought. But she pushed it to the back of her mind as Lori got into the car and drove off into the night.

* * *

"I knew I shouldn't have left them alone with it. The idiots," Lori mutters as she pulled up to the fourth laboratory. "If they killed it, they're in for a world of hurt."

Lori unlocked the main doors to the lab. She quickly walked down the halls, her heels making sharp clicks on the stone floors. She opened up the concealed door that led to her more private experiments.

"Ruby!" she shouted.

A younger woman came rushing up to her. Ruby exclaimed, "Dr. Alter! Thank goodness you're here. These imbeciles were messing around with-"

"Never mind that. Is it damaged?"

"Project Ian? No, he's fine."

Lori sighed, "'It', Ruby. How many times do I have to tell you? Project Ian is an 'it' not a 'he'. You can't form attachments in this line of work."

"Right. Sorry."

"Good. Now where are the bastards who messed with my project?!"

"Uh….two doors down. On the left," Ruby said quietly. She did not want to be the subject of Dr. Alter's wrath. Ruby had heard stories about Dr. Alter's previous lab assistants. One had abandoned his post after losing his mind. And Ruby suspected that others had been used in Dr. Alter's experiments.

"Thanks, sweetheart. You should go now. I'll see you in the morning. I have a few things to take care of so I'll lock up on my way out. Okay?"

"Err….sure," said Ruby. "Goodnight."

"Night," muttered Lori. "Now to give those bastards the hell they came looking for."


	4. Boys Will Be Boys

**Sup! Iron Rose here! Time to give you the greatest update excuse ever: SCHOOL! Ain't that fantastic?! Yeah. Right. Nope. But anywho, this is Jack and Savon bonding time! Bromance episode! Enjoy!**

* * *

Ana woke up to Jack banging on her door.

"Ana! Ana! Hey Ana!" he shouted.

The door opened and Ana appeared. She rubbed her eye with one hand and ran the other through her hair. "What'd ya want?" Ana yawned.

"Bernard told me to get you up. Breakfast is ready," Jack replied.

"Fine. Gimme a minute," she said as she closed the door.

Ana glanced around the room for her suitcase. She quickly walked to it and got out a light grey t-shirt and a pair of jeans. As she walked to the door, Ana caught her reflection in the mirror. She noticed her hair was starting to fade. She was going to have to color it again soon.

Ana opened the door again and Jack was still there. He had been leading up against the opposite wall. When he saw her, he jumped up, eager to get to breakfast. They started down the hall.

"Why didn't you go back down?" asked Ana.

"Well," Jack rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I think Bernard sent me up here to get me out of the kitchen so he could cook."

Ana snorted a laugh. As they descended the stairs they heard Bernard and Lori in the kitchen.

"Lori, that's your fourth cup of coffee this morning. You're going to collapse due to a caffeine overdose."

"Oh hush up," Lori slurred. "I got back at two last night. I had to clean up this huge mess at the lab and-" Lori stopped talking as Ana and Jack entered the room.

"Morning," Ana yawned.

"Good morning," said Bernard. "We're having pancakes."

"And bacon?"

"Of course."

"Can I have some coffee?" asked Jack.

"Sure," said Lori. "The mugs are in the cupboard over there. Top shelf."

Bernard set a plate stacked high with pancakes and himself down at the table next to Lori. Ana grabbed a chair two pancakes, the syrup and dug in. Jack poured himself some coffee and sat down to eat as well.

After a few minutes, Bernard asked, "So….what were you two planning to do today?"

"Well we were wondering if one of you could take us into Central City," said Jack.

"We need to meet up with Naomi and Savon," Ana finished.

"Of course. Of course," said Bernard with a smile. "Where'd you need to go?"

* * *

Ana gasped as she stepped out of the Alter's car. That had been the most terrifying thing she had ever experienced. The car ride had started out okay but once they had pulled out onto the major road Bernard had hit the gas and they were going 70 in a 55 zone. Thankfully he had slowed down a little once they reached the city, but that did not stop the man from almost hitting every possible obstacle in the road.

"Have a nice day and don't do anything too dangerous. Okay? Bye," said Bernard.

"Like get back into the car with the devil driver," Jack muttered, but by then Bernard was gone.

"C'mon. Let's find Naomi," Ana suggested. She turned towards the bakery. It was one of her favorite places in Central. The store had large glass window that showed all the different desserts; over the windows hung red striped awnings. Her favorite thing about the little shop was the apple pie. It was almost as good as her mother's. Almost.

Naomi choose that moment to come walking out.

"Found her," Jack said dryly.

"You're late," Naomi deadpanned.

"Naomi," Ana said slyly. "You drive, right?"

"Yeah," Naomi said suspicious. "Why?"

Ana turned on the puppy eyes. "You gotta come pick us up and drop us off. I'm not getting in the car with that maniac ever again. Please! I'm begging you."

"Uh-huh. And what's in it for me?"

"Um….You'll do it out of the kindness of your heart….?"

"Yeah…No."

"Well, it was worth a shot." Ana shrugged as if she expected that response. She looked around. "Hey, where's Savon?"

"Maybe he's bleeding out in an alley somewhere," Jack suggested. Naomi just rolled her eyes.

"Jack, Savon is part of this team just like you and-"

Just then Savon came running up.

"Speak of the devil," Jack muttered once he was in earshot. Savon sent him a glare. Naomi sighed and rolled her eyes at the boys' antics. Really, they could be so immature.

"What's up?" Savon asked.

"You're late," Naomi deadpanned.

"Yeah. Sorry," said Savon sheepishly. "Mom wanted to talk about stuff."

Jack snorted at the pathetic excuse. "That's totally not vague. Not vague at all."

"You got a problem with my mom?"

"No. Just you."

"Oh, yeah!? Well take this!" Savon swung his fist towards Jack's face but Naomi just grabbed his arm.

"Savon, you can't be picking fights in the street," she admonished. Jack sent him a victorious smirk.

"He started it," Savon whined.

Naomi sent a glare in Jack's direction. "That goes for you too, Jack."

He just rolled his eyes. "At least I'm not some prissy rich kid who-"

"ENOUGH!" Ana shouted. She glared furiously at Jack and Savon. "We were going to have some fun today but you two spoiled my mood. So for the rest of the week, Savon you're going to help Jack study for his State Alchemist exam."

* * *

Jack groaned. "I hate reading." He slammed his head down on on the library table. Savon dropped a huge stack of books down on the table.

"Doesn't matter," he said. "Ana says I have to get you ready for your alchemy exam and the first part of that is a written test."

"But I HATE-"

"Shh!" hissed the Librarian.

Jack shot the woman an annoyed glare. He turned back to Savon and asked, "What are these books about anyway?"

"Fire alchemy and its various uses," Savon replied, already bored. "This one here is specifically about famous people who only used flame alchemy."

"You found all these pretty easily…?"

Savon was uncomfortable with all the questions. "My dad wanted me to learn flame alchemy really bad so he had me read these books pretty often. Now get started."

Jack groaned but opened the first book anyway.

* * *

Jack threw his hands up in the air in frustration. "Ugh! This isn't working, Savon! How is a target supposed to help anyway?!"

The two boys were standing in the Alter's 3 acre backyard. Savon asked Ana to set up a training course so Jack could practice. Jack was hitting the target just fine but every time the fire would completely consume it.

"Like I said before, the targets teach control and accuracy," Savon said. "You've power but your shots usually go wild and that can get you killed."

"Yeah. Sure. I've fought with this stuff all my life and I've won every battle."

Savon sighed. "You're being-"

"And these gloves suck," Jack complained. "How am I supposed to control anything with these things on!?"

"The ignition gloves?"

"I'd rather use my lighter, but that's back in Rixwell Point," muttered Jack.

"Lighter?" questioned Savon. "But you don't have a transmutation circle on your hand. How does that work?"

"The transmutation circle was on the lighter case. Duh."

"So all we need is to get you a new lighter."

* * *

The store the two boys were at was small and rather dingy, but Savon knew Jean Havoc, the owner, was friends with his dad. Mustang would go on and on about how Havoc should stop smoking and that would eventually turn into the story of how he defeated a homunculus with just a lighter, blah, blah, blah, bla-blah.

"So which one do you want?" Savon asked Jack.

"I get to pick?" Jack was surprised. He never got to choose anything. It was never a choice. You did what the - , or there was pain in your future.

"Duh," said Savon. "It's YOUR lighter."

"Um…..the red, metal one over there. It reminds me of Ana."

Savon furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Really?"

"Well, yeah," Jack said defensively. "It's red. Like her hair."

Savon just shrugged. "Okay. Whatever floats your boat." Savon reached for the lighter but Jack stopped him.

"I-I don't have any money," Jack confessed softly.

"So? I've got some cash on me," he said pulling it down. "I'll buy it."

Jack looked down at the younger boy, confused by his actions. No one had ever given him anything before. Everything he had ever had was earned or stolen.

"Don't worry about it," said Savon. "You can pay me back once you get your State licence."

* * *

Once they were back in the Alter's backyard, Savon had Jack start the exercises all over again.

"Wow. The lighter really makes a difference," Savon commented.

"Duh. I've been using one since I was six. They don't have fancy "ignition gloves" where I come from."

Savon furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "But you can get the gloves anywhere in Amestris."

Jack wanted to say, _Who said I grew up in Amestris_ , but instead he just rolled his eyes. "For six year old hands?"

"Good point ," Savon conceded. "Now get back to work."

* * *

Jack slid across the frozen mud, landing on his back. Savon pointed his ice sword at Jack's face and shouted, "HA! Beat you!"

Jack snorted. "That's not much of an accomplishment. I beat you 7 to 2."

Savon stuck his tongue out at Jack in response. Jack laughed and picked himself up off the ground. The two boys went over to the patio to cool off while the ground thawed out. Once they were sitting, Jack asked a question.

"So, Savon, why aren't you a State Alchemist?"

Savon look over at Jack in surprise. He thought the older boy never cared about anyone but himself. And now Jack was asking about his personal life….. Weird.

"Um….well," He started to say. Jack looked at him expectantly. Savon took a deep breath and said, "Mydadwon'tletmetakethetest."

"What?" Jack asked slowly.

Savon shuffled his feet. "My dad won't let me take the test because he doesn't want me to get hurt."

"During the test?"

"No! After that. Being a State Alchemist isn't the most glorious position. Especially with what's going on in the West."

"What about your mom?" Jack asked curiously.

"Mom thinks I should take it. Just to gauge my skills and stuff. She says since I learned it, I might as well put it to good use. Right?" Savon sighed and then said tersely, "But Dad's word is law. Literally."

Jack all of a sudden felt bad about bring it up. He knew there had to be a reason behind why the kid was not State certified, but Jack did not think Savon would be this bitter about it. "Sorry. Didn't mean to bring up-"

"Forget it. It's not your fault," Savon said, standing up. "Go again?" He attempted to crack his knuckles, but they did not pop.

Jack's wild grin once again took over his face. "You're going down, Mustang." He got into a battle ready stance.

Savon copied the movements. "You're on."

* * *

Savon and Jack had been sparring for the past two hours. Jack had won most of the fights but Savon had his victories here and there. Not to mention, the younger boy gave Jack a run for his money. Water alchemy was extremely difficult to combat, especially for flame alchemists. Savon was also a very good strategist and quite the little trickster. But what Jack lacked in strategy, he made up for in strength. His main attack was 'Blast 'Em With Fire'.

After the last battle the boys fell to the ground, exhausted.

And that was where Ana and Naomi found them.

"This doesn't look like studying," Ana said accusingly. She was standing behind Savon's head, looking down at him with a scowl. "Does it, Naomi?"

Naomi tried to hide her grin as she said, "No. As a matter of fact it doesn't, Ana."

The girls knew, of course, that the boys had been working all day and that they had both improved a lot. Ana just wanted to give them a hard time about it.

"Jack's test is in two days and all you've been doing is lying around? I expected more from you, Savon." Ana shook her head in mock disappointment.

"Wha-? Huh? We've been-" Savon sputtered.

"Don't make excuses," Naomi said sternly. Well, attempted to say sternly; she was not as good an actor as Ana.

"But we _have_ been-" Jack started to say.

"I don't want to hear it," Ana interrupted.

"But-" cried the boys in unison.

"If you don't pass Jack, I'll have both your heads," Ana threatened. The boys just stared at her in shock. "Let's go, Naomi."

The girls headed back towards the house. Once the door clicked shut, they both laughed until they cried.

* * *

Back in Ana's room, Naomi stared out the window at the boys, who were back to sparring. "That plan worked well."

"Yep," Ana said smugly.

"You REALLY came up with this when they were fighting earlier?" Naomi said, doubt lacing her voice.

Ana replied indignantly, "You don't believe me?"

"Usually 'spur of the moment plans don't work out well."

Ana released an evil cackle. "Well, that sums up about all of my plans."


	5. Conquistidor

**A/N: Hey Iron Rose here. (Obviously.) Anyway I'm starting something new here….a chapter song. Well it's not really new, but I haven't done it before.**

 **Song: Conquistador - 30 Seconds to Mars**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Jack was excited. And confidant. And nervous. But mostly confidant. He and Savon had worked all week on his alchemy. Jack was ready for anything they could throw at him.

"Jack? Jack. Jack! You awake in there?" Ana waved her hand in front of his face. Savon snickered as Jack shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Huh?" he asked.

"You gotta go. The test is starting," she reminded him.

"Right. See ya," Jack said as he ran off towards the meeting room they were testing in.

Naomi sighed. She was getting bored with all this alchemy nonsense. Naomi gasped and then saluted when she saw Fuhrer Mustang approach.

"At ease, soldier," he said when he arrived. He nodded a greeting to Savon and Ana. "Hello son. Iron Rose."

"Hi, Dad," Savon replied, not meeting Mustang's eyes.

"What are you doing here, Fuhrer?" Ana demanded.

"I'm here to see the results of that flame alchemist you brought in."

"Oh right," said Ana. The whole group fell into an awkward silence. Then Ana had a terrible idea.

"Hey Fuhrer….." she said coyly. "You wanna make a bet?"

"A bet?"

"Yeah if Jack passes I get to pick his code name."

Mustang raised his eyebrows. "You realize that I determine whether he passes or not."

Ana decided to ignore this fact. "Yeah. So do we have a deal?"

"Sure. Why not?" Mustang replied.

* * *

Jack's confidence evaporated the moment he opened the test booklet. It had questions like:*

 _How many liters of water does the human body contain?_

 _At what temperature does steel melt?_

 _How much iron would come from a 2 kilograms of iron ore with 20% copper, 14% nickel, 3% arsenic and 48% chromium?_

 _List 3 items that could be made out of 2 meters of fabric._

This was going to take a while.

* * *

"Ugh! What's taking him so long?" Ana complained.

"Not everyone is as good at tests as you are Ana," Naomi retorted.

"What do you mean?" asked Savon.

"Miss Ana Edwards here completed the written portion of the exam in the shortest time ever. The test is designed to take an average of two hours-"

"And he's been in there for two and a half!" Ana interrupted.

"Anyway," she sent a glare at Ana. "She completed the test in a record hour and seventeen minutes. And got every answer right. Command thought she cheated."

"You DID?"

"No I didn't cheat! But tests have always been easy," she said dismissively. "In grade school I failed half the assignments but still passed most of the classes 'cause I always aced the exams. And I didn't get ALL the answers right. Whoever grades it docked me half a point on 28. For a spelling mistake. Pig."

Naomi rolled her eyes.

At that point, Jack stepped out of the room, panting heavily. He staggered across the marble hallway over to his friends. Once he got there, he fell into a heap on the floor.

"My fake fests," he mumbled into the floor.

"What?" asked Ana, confused.

Jack lifted his face off the floor and said, "I hate tests."

Ana burst out laughing.

* * *

Ana, Naomi, and Savon stood at the edge of the roped off area where Jack was taking his combat test.

Jack walked out on to the field. The horn that signified the beginning of the fight went off. Jack charged at his opponent. Ana saw a small flash of red then a huge flame burst from Jack's hand.

"Ana," Naomi nudged Ana's arm, trying to get her attention. "Ana. Ana!"

"What?!" Ana asked annoyed.

"Look at Jack. His eyes- There's something wrong."

Ana looked out at the field. She squinted at Jack. Naomi was right. There was something off about Jack's body language. It looked as if…

"Jack's going to kill him," Ana realized. She ducked under the rope separating the spectators from the fight and ran at Jack.

"ANA!" Naomi and Savon screamed.

Jack's opponent laid on the grass, unconscious. He stood over the figure, about to turn the man to ash, when Ana ran into him. Her momentum sent them both flying to the side of the field.

"Naomi! Savon!" Ana shouted. She pointed at the unconscious man. "Get him out of here!"

Once they had reached the man and dragged him away, she turned her attention back to Jack. Just in time too. Jack regained his senses after the fall and sent a large fireball towards Ana's head. She rolled out of the way but the flames caught the edge of her shirt. She kept rolling and got the fire out, but still got a few burns in the process.

Ana stood up shakily. She did not understand why Jack was acting like this. He never went berserk during his practices with Savon.

 _What made this different?_ Ana thought. _The opponent? No, he was gone. The location? Probably not. Jack had been here dozens of times already. The crowd?_

Ana lost her train of thought as another stream of fire flew passed her face. She charged Jack, knocking him over once more. But Jack was better prepared this time. He threw her off and sent another blast of fire at her. Ana clapped and a wall blocked the flames. The crowd cheered in excitement and Jack's expression turned even darker.

They began to fight hand to hand. Jack had the obvious advantage. He was twice as strong as Ana, but he did not have the expertise she did. He was limited to punches and small kicks whereas she had a full arsenal of martial arts.

As the fight continued, the crowd grew louder. As the crowd grew louder, Jack's moves became more and more deadly. Finally, Ana had enough. She clapped and a giant wall surrounded the combat field. The noise of the crowd was instantly deafened.

Jack stopped moving. The furious expression on his face disappeared. Ana sighed in relief, then promptly collapsed as all the adrenaline poured out of her.

"Ana?" Jack asked, totally lost. "Ana!" He ran to her in a panic. She groaned as he picked her up. _Oh my god, did I do this?_ he thought as he looked over her battle wounds. Jack looked up at the seamless wall surrounding them. Ana needed medical help; he knew how painful burns could be.

Jack placed Ana gently on the ground in order to draw a basic transmutation circle. When he pressed his hands to it, a large chunk of wall exploded.

By this point the crowd was completely silent and confused. As Jack stepped out of the wall, carrying Ana once more, Naomi and Savon came running up to him.

"What happened?" asked Naomi sternly.

"I'm not sure," answered Jack.

"You're NOT SURE!" Savon shouted. "You almost-"

Naomi slapped her hand over Savon's mouth. "There's no need to tell the world."

"Guys," said Jack, reclaiming their attention. "Ana needs a doctor."

"Medic!" shouted Naomi.

"No," Ana mumbled. "Mustang. I need to talk to Mustang."

Just then two medics came running up with a stretcher. Jack set Ana down on it. She groaned as she settled onto the new surface. The medics took her way to a hospital where they could treat her.

Jack was at a loss. He had almost killed the person who saved him. His face was contorted in a mix of confusion and worry. "What did I do?" Jack whispered to himself.

Unfortunately, Naomi heard him. "Don't worry. Okay? Ana heals fast, remember? She'll be better in no time."

* * *

Ana was lying facedown in a hospital bed when Naomi, Savon, and Jack came into the hospital room. They had just finished talking to the nurse about Ana's injuries. The young alchemist had several second degree burns on her back and arms. She was to be let out in three days but she was not allowed to do any vigorous movement for the next week. Ana was, of course, incredibly unhappy about this.

"Naomi! You gotta get me out of here!" Ana cried dramatically.

"No," Naomi responded without emotion.

"But they tried to make me drink…." she paused for dramatic effect. "Milk."

"No."

"Ugh." Ana flopped back down on the bed, then yelped in pain. "That was a bad idea," she squeaked.

Naomi chuckled. Savon came over and helped Ana sit back up. They all waited there for an awkward moment, then Savon said,

"Sooo, Jack's test got put on hold…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Ana.

"Basically, the Fuhrer is stopping the test until Jack has proven he isn't a threat to society," Naomi explained.

Ana looked to Jack for confirmation. When he rolled his eyes and nodded, she said, "So I still need to talk to Mustang. Naomi, Savon, go find him."

Once they were gone, Ana turned to Jack, "It's not your fault you know."

"Don't give me that," Jack growled. "I almost killed someone. I hurt you. What if-"

"Listen to me," Ana said calmly. "These things…. They happen. A lot. People get hurt all the time. It's the reason we have hospitals. But I don't want you giving up because of this."

"It's just… The arena… It reminded me of something I'd rather forget," Jack said softly.

"You'll be fine, Jack. Whatever happened in the past, can't hurt you here."

"I guess."

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here. Okay?"

"Got it," Jack responded.

"Good. Now where's Mustang?" Ana demanded. The abrupt change in topic almost gave Jack whiplash. Fortunately, the door opened and Mustang walked in. He nodded his greeting to Ana and Jack.

"Jack, could you give us a minute?" asked Ana.

"Uh, sure," he said. Jack quickly walked out, closing the door behind him. Outside he found Naomi and Savon with their ears pressed against the wall.

"What are-"

"Shhh," hissed Naomi. "We're trying to hear what they're saying."

Jack shrugged and pressed his own ear to the door. The conversation went on for the next couple minutes, but the three could only make out words like "Jack", "alchemy", "Oh, come on, Mustang", and "That's Fuhrer to you, young lady".

When the door opened again, it upset Jack's balance and he fell face forward at Mustang's feet.

Mustang looked down at the teen as Jack picked himself off the ground. "You know, eavesdropping is not a trustworthy quality."

"So I've been told," Jack said sourly.

"Anyway, you have passed your State Alchemist Qualification."

"I did….? Wait. I did. YES!" Jack shouted.

A nearby nurse shushed him. "Young man," she reprimanded. "This is a hospital. People are sleeping."

Jack at least had the courtesy to look abashed.

"Just come in," ordered Mustang. "We'll finish this inside."

The three teens walked into Ana's room. Naomi sat down on the edge of the bed. Savon and Mustang took the two arm chairs and Jack leaned against the wall with the door. A huge grin split Ana's face when she saw Jack.

Mustang took a deep breath and began. "Jack Slate, I'm going to present you with a State licence. However, there are conditions that have to be observed. Because of your actions taken during the test, there will be limits placed on the power you hold as a State Alchemist. You will not receive the military rank or authority and all your work must be supervised by Iron Rose. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," said Jack.

* * *

Ana got out of the hospital five days ago and was already walking around, contrary to the doctor's orders, but her friends had stopped trying to fight her a long time ago. The group was in Mustang's office finalizing Jack's State licence.

"Ana, what his code name going to be?" asked Mustang. To be honest, he was dreading the next words he was about to hear.

"I was thinking along the lines of 'Demon Fire'," she proclaimed proudly.

Jack blanched at the possible code name. "Hell no."

"Oh come on. It's sooo cool."

"It's sooo cliche," commented Savon.

"Well if you have a better idea," Ana said sarcastically.

"As a matter of fact I do," said Mustang with a cocky grin. "How about the 'Flame Alchemist the Second'. You know, after me."

Savon face palmed.

Jack hit his head against the desk as he cried, "C'mon people. You have to be able to come up with stuff better than that."

"I have an idea," said Naomi quietly. "How about 'Helios'?"

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then Jack said, "That's perfect."

Ana pouted, "My name was cooler."

* * *

 *** These questions are entirely made up. I don't know the answers or if they have answers or if they're even solvable. If any math geniuses want to take a shot at them feel free. I take chemistry this year so if they're wrong I'll fix them later….**


	6. Chimera's Cry

**A/N: Hullo! Wassup! Iron Rose in the House! Whoop! Whoop! Yeah, I know. You're not actually excited to see me. I could blame it on school but I'm not. I like to be original with my excuses. Thank you very much. Anywho...**

 **This is my goodbye - Thanks. It is designed to be funny.**

 **Chapter Song: Drumming Song by Florence + The Machine**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Neither Ana nor Jack had ever been inside one of Central's State research labs. They were large and domineering. The only windows were on the bottom floor. Lori reminded them to stay near close. Some of the alchemists here would not take kindly to being bothered.

The laboratory itself reminded Ana of a mental institute. Steel doors lined bleached white wall and Lori's shoes clicked as she walked on the cold grey floors.

"Come along," commanded Lori. "We're almost to the bio-labs."

The bio-labs were just as white and grey as the rest of the building. Ana wondered how Lori even found her way around this place. There were no signs pointing to exits or even to other sections of the building.

"Here we are. This is my personal lab," said Lori as she pulled open one of the doors.

Inside the room, many tables lined the walls. Various lab equipment was strewn about the tables. The only equipment Ana recognized was a microscope and even that was more complicated than any she had ever seen. However, the most interesting feature of the room was the glass wall.

Behind the glass was an entire jungle of plants and biological wonders. There were trees, vines, and even a waterfall could be seen in the background. It was like a zoo, but without the animals.

"This is amazing," said Ana, stunned.

"I've been working on it for the past five years. It the home of my prize experiment," explained Lori proudly.

"What's the experiment?" asked Jack.

"I'm attempting to recreate the evolutionary missing links."

Ana and Jack stared at her in disbelief. "How?" asked Ana.

"By creating chimeras," Lori stated smugly.

"Can we see it?" Jack asked excitedly.

At that moment another woman entered the room. She wore a light pink blouse, a black skirt, and of course a lab coat. Her hair was a natural red and her eyes were a pale green. Her name tag read Ruby.

"Dr. Alter, the bio-lab board requests your presence," she stated.

Lori groaned in annoyance. "Fine. Make sure these kids get out of the building."

"But we didn't-" started Jack.

"And you're not going to," Lori said as she walked out of the room. "Ruby, get them out of here."

And with that Lori was gone.

Immediately Ana and Jack turned to Ruby.

"Can _you_ let us see the chimeras?" asked Ana.

Ruby took a step back in fear. "N-No."

"Please….?" asked Jack.

"Dr. Alter said no," Ruby said timidly.

"So? She's not here. We won't tell," Ana promised.

"We just want a look," said Jack.

"Well…."

"Please," said the teens in unison.

"Ugh. Fine," Ruby said, giving in. "But just for a minute."

Ruby unlocked the door and let them inside.

"This is amazing," said Jack.

"I've never even seen half these plants," said Ana.

"Well that's because most of biological life in here is all chimera bred," explained Ruby.

The two teens stared in wonder at the chimera jungle that surrounded them. It was the most colorful place Ana and Jack had ever seen. There were at least eleven different types of flowers as well as multiple flocks of multicolored lizard-birds. Jack heard a rustling behind him.

"Hey did you guys hear that?" he asked cautiously.

"No. What are you talking about?" asked Ana.

"Nevermind. I guess it was nothing," he replied. All of a sudden, something jumped on Jack's back and he screamed like a little girl.

Ana spun around to face him, bursting out laughing at he sight of Jack attempting to get a small, furry, brown creature off his back. Ruby pulled the creature off of Jack. She cradled it in her arms and tickled its stomach. Ana approached, curious.

"What is he?" asked Ana.

"Homo sapiens and Pan paniscus," said a voice behind them. "And the chimera is and 'it' not a 'he'."

Ana, Jack and Ruby turned to find Lori standing there with her hands on her hips. "I call it project Ian. It is my life's greatest work. Human crossed with our primate ancestors. A scientific miracle."

"Why have we heard about it?" Ana asked. "Something like this should have been in the papers."

"The project is still in its beginning stages. This subject was my first successful breed," Lori stated.

"Um…. Can I ask…. Uh, what's a Pan pan cus?" asked Jack nervously.

Ruby laughed. "Pan paniscus. It's a chimpanzee."

* * *

A few days later, Ana and Jack were telling Savon and Naomi about Lori's work.

"There's little chimera there and his name is Ian," said Ana.

"What's his cross?" asked Naomi.

"Lori said human and….chimp? I think," said Jack.

Savon's face contorted into an expression of confusion. "Are you sure? Because that's illegal."

"What do you mean?" asked Ana.

"My dad banned all human based chimera experiments 17 years ago," Savon stated. "This chimera shouldn't exist."

"How come the board hasn't found out about this?" asked Naomi.

"I don't know. Alchemists who work in the State labs have to register all experiments, equipment, and supplies, that includes specimens," said Savon.

"I'm telling Colonel Rackem," said Naomi as she stood up.

Jack grabbed her arm. "No! You can't. What would happen to Ian?"

Naomi sighed as she peeled Jack's hand off her arm. "And what about the children she's already hurt with her experiments? You didn't think that Ian was the first kid she did this to?"

Ana's eyes shot open in horror. "Wait, you mean she's made other human based chimeras?"

"Of course," said Savon, rolling his eyes. "It takes hundreds of thousands of tries to create any type of chimera. He may be her first successful cross, but he wasn't her first."

Ana looked at the ground. "Fine. Let's tell Rackem."

* * *

"Colonel Rackem," Naomi saluted as the group of four entered the office. "We have something to report."

Rackem gestured for them to sit and Ana began the story. Once Ana was done speaking, Rackem said, "Interesting. It's true that her experiments are illegal, but it's not the first time human based chimeras have been created. I know there are many such people in Creta-"

"But alchemy was banned in Creta," interjected Savon.

"I know, but that hasn't stopped a black market production of chimeras for gladiator game and such," continued Rackem. "Anyway, we do have safe places for these people. Once we arrest Dr. Alter, Ian can be taken to one of these places."

"So then, what's the plan?" asked Ana, determined.

* * *

Rackem, Jaroue and the rest of Rackem's squad were waiting outside the third lab with Naomi, Savon and six other soldiers, making up the strike team. It was almost nine o'clock and Lori still had not left the building for the night. Ana and Jack were already inside, ready to grab Ian once Lori was safely locked away.

"Reed. Are Iron Rose and Helios in position?" Rackem asked.

Naomi turned on her comm set and spoke, "Ana? Are you ready? Over." After a few seconds she received a reply. Naomi turned to Rackem and nodded.

"Now we wait," said Rackem.

* * *

Ana and Jack were playing with Ian in the jungle room when the glass wall shattered. The three just stood there for a second, then Ana broke the silence.

"Jack, hide Ian. I'm calling Naomi."

Jack picked up the chimp-boy and ran. Ana picked up the comm set and said, "Naomi? Something's wrong. The glass wall just broke. We need help. Over."

For a few seconds all she heard was static. Then she heard Naomi's voice, "Copy. We're coming in. Over."

Ana shut off the communicator and ran to find Ian and Jack. As she ran she heard a woman voice. It was not Lori's or Ruby's. Ana did not recognise it. She did know, however that the woman was calling for Ian.

Ana ran into a clear patch of space just in time to see Ian run out from behind a small clump of bushes.

"Mommy!" shouted Ian with glee. He scampered towards the woman with his arms outstretched.

The woman fired her gun.

 _BANG._

Ian fell to the floor. Blood pooling around his small body.

"How could you…." Jack growled. "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT!?"

Jack charged the woman, but she used his momentum to grab his wrist and pin it against his back.

"He was an abomination!" she screamed, enraged.

"He called you MOTHER! He was your SON! Your CHILD!" Ana screamed through her tears. She held Ian in her lap, cradling the limp body.

"He stopped being my son when that woman turned him into a monster!" she screamed back.

"He could still feel. He still loved. Ian was human! There's no excuse in the world that could justify you!" Ana yelled. She clapped her hands and pressed them to the floor. The ground under the woman's feet swelled and threw her into the wall. Unfortunately, it threw Jack as well and he broke the woman's fall, knocking him out.

"You State Alchemists are all the same. You don't care about anything besides following orders and throwing your weight around. There's a reason you're called dogs. It's because you take out anything that gets in the way of your goals," the woman shouted.

"That's not true anymore. Mustang changed all that," Ana said quietly.

"Don't get me started on the Fuhrer. He's no better than Bradley," she hissed.

That was when Lori and Ruby rushed in.

"Ana! What's going-" Lori started to say, but when she saw Ian she screamed. "No! NO! This is my life's work! You bitch!" she screamed at the woman, but she was already gone.

"What happened?" asked Ruby calmly.

"She…. That woman…. She shot him," Ana sobbed.

Ruby felt for a pulse. There was none. "That's it. He's gone."

Ana cried even harder. Jack woke up and picked himself off the floor. "Ian, I'm so sorry. I should have done something. Anything. I-I-I-" she cried.

Ruby took the body away and Jack came over and wrapped his arms around Ana. She clutched his shirt and buried her face in his chest. Ana wailed even louder, pouring her tears into his shirt until it was soaked.

Jack looked up at the ceiling. "This is my fault. If only I had noticed the gun sooner. Or…."

Lori interrupted him, "Jack, Ana, neither of you are to blame for this. It's that woman's, Reyna's, fault alone. You shouldn't blame yourselves. There wasn't anything you could've done. What you need to do now is find Reyna and give her the justice that she deserves."

"No. You're the one who needs to be brought to justice, Dr. Alter," said a voice from behind them.

They looked up to see Savon, Naomi and Jaroue. Savon was the one who spoke.

"What you did to that child is unforgivable. It's against the law and we're bringing you in."

Lori stood up, shock written all over her face. She turned to Ana and Jack. "You reported me!" she screamed. "How dare you?!"

Lori pressed her hands to the ground and the plants around them started growing and moving. The transmutation circle tattooed on Lori's back started glowing and green lightning arched off of her, traveling to the plants. Lori sent the plants at the three new arrivals, but Savon grabbed a fist full of plant. He raised the water temperature inside of the plants to the boiling point. The plants expanded and exploded. Steam filled the room but by the time it cleared Lori Alter was gone.

* * *

 **Okay, World, I need a favor...**

 **For the next chapter I need a name for an apartment building/hotel, where Ana and Jack can stay at. I, personally, am all out of ideas, so if anyone has any I'd love to hear them. Thanks. Iron Rose out.**


	7. White Lies

**A/N: I'm BACK! What else is new!? Well, I created a playlist for this story. You can find it on my tumblr: Iron Rose Alchemist.**

 **Question: Does anyone else think "Amsterdam" by Imagine Dragons was literally written about FMA?**

 **In other news, this chapter is short. Barely over 1,200! These things are usually 2,500+.**

 **Thanks to nobody for suggesting any names.**

 **Chapter Song: Dreams by Imagine Dragons (I really like Imagine Dragons.)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Lori ran through the third laboratory. A group of two soldiers spotted her and started chasing her.

"Those damn kids," she muttered under her breath. Both soldiers fired their guns. One of the bullets grazed her left arm, and Lori yelped in pain. The other missed. Lori made it to the doors and found a blockade around the outside of the lab. But there was no time to stop. She ran around the side of the building to the back parking lot where her car was. She slid into the driver's seat and headed straight for the blockade.

"Either they move or they don't," she said to herself.

Once the soldiers saw the headlights of her car coming at them they scattered like leaves in the wind. Lori's car ran straight through the pathetic wooden fence they had around the entrance.

* * *

"BERNARD!" Lori screamed. She flew through the house towards the bathroom where they kept the first aid supplies. She threw open the cabinet and pulled out the gauze. As She was wrapping up the bullet wound, Bernard rushed in.

"Lori? What's wrong?" he asked. He gasped when he saw she was shot. "What happened?"

"That's not important right now," Lori insisted. "Get the suitcases. We're running."

"Running? Why?" Bernard asked hurriedly.

"I'll tell you once we're out of here. Right now we need to get moving," she commanded.

Bernard gave a sigh of resignation, as he turned and left the room. He went to the master bedroom, opened the closet, grabbed the pre-packed suitcases, and rushed downstairs. Lori met him at the bottom, her arm already fully wrapped up.

"Let's go," she said. Using her good arm she opened up the back door and walked to Bernard's car. Bernard popped the trunk and dropped the suitcases inside. He slammed the trunk shut and slid into the driver's seat. He started the car, pulled out of the long driveway and onto the dark empty country road.

Two hours later, Colonel Rackem and her squad arrived at the Alter's house, but, of course, they were already too late.

* * *

Three days later, Rackem and Jaroue were summoned to Fuhrer Mustang's office.

"Sir," she said as they saluted.

"At ease," Mustang replied. "Please, sit." As the two sat, Mustang continued. "I'm sure you both have heard of the incident at Central's Third State Laboratory."

"I led the raid, sir," said Rackem.

"Good. Then you are aware of the details of the case?" Mustang questioned.

"Yes," Jaroue answered. "Dr. Lori Alter was performing illegal experiments, without authorization from the State Laboratory Board. It appears-"

"Wrong details," Mustang interrupted.

"What do you mean, sir?" Rackem asked.

"Lori Alter fled the scene. I need her detained and brought to court."

"You want us to find her," Jaroue stated as if it was a question.

"Correct. As you are already familiar with the case and the parties involved, I would like you to take point on her arrest."

"Yes sir," Rackem and Jaroue said in unison.

"You are dismissed," Mustang commanded.

* * *

Ana and Jack had obviously had to move once the Alter's had fled Central. They were now staying Arabelle apartment complex. Once they arrived, Ana locked herself in her new room and had refused to come out.

"Ana, come on!" Naomi said from outside the door. "It's been three days. When was the last time you ate?"

As usual, there was no response.

Ana sat with her back against the locked door. Her knees drawn to her chest, face buried in her arms. She want to cry but she was all out of tears. She knew she could not do anything about Ian or even help Rackem catch Lori, much less Ian's killer.

That was the hardest thing for Ana to come to grips with. A mother KILLING her own child. Not only that but going to extremes to make sure he was dead. Lori had covered her tracks well enough to not be found out by the military, yet a random woman had gone to such lengths to kill this child.

Ana could not make heads or tails of it.

Naomi started banging on the door again. "Ana. Ana! If you don't open this door right now, I'm going to get a key from the manager and possibly call your parents."

At this, Ana's head shot up. If Naomi called her parents, then the jig would be up. Naomi would know and everything would be over for Ana.

"Fine. I'm calling the manager," Naomi said from the other side of the door.

Naomi started to walk away, but stopped when she heard a door swing open and a small voice call her name. She turned to see Ana, silhouetted by the dark room behind her. Ana looked terrible. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. And was that yellow in her hair?

But that did not matter at this point in time, Ana fell to her knees, and the rest of her would have hit the floor if Naomi had not caught her. Naomi carried Ana back into the room and laid her down on the bed. The girl had obviously not slept in a while.

But that did not matter either. As long as Ana Edwards was not dead, Naomi would do her duty. She owed the younger girl at least that much.

* * *

Reyna sat in a nearly empty bar. It was just her, the bartender, and two other patrons in the White Cat Pub. She was sitting on a barstool celebrating her hollow victory against Lori Alter, with a few shots. She heard the door to the pub creak open, but she was too lost in her own world to care. She only looked up when the newcomer approached the bar and sat down next to her. Reyna was surprised to see it was a woman.

"Hello, Mrs. Kiev,"said the woman after ordering a drink. Reyna did not respond But she gave the woman her attention. "My name is Danielle Ascott. I'm here to offer you a proposition."

"And what would that be?" Reyna asked suspiciously.

"My employer has taken notice of your goals and wants to-"

"I have accomplished my goals," said Reyna tersely. She did not like what this woman was insinuating. Reyna stood and started to walk out of the bar.

The woman called out, "But don't you want to make Alter suffer?"

Reyna stopped, fury lighting up her eyes. She marched furiously back to the bar, slamming her hands down on the wood. "I've done that. I've destroyed her greatest project and ruined her career. What else do I have to do?"

"Of course, Mrs.-"

"It's Reyna."

"Alright then, Reyna. But don't you want to make her feel the pain you felt when she tore your family apart?"

"Are you telling me I should kill her husband?"

"Exactly." Ascott smiled to herself. Emotional people are so easy to manipulate, she thought. "My employer can supply all the funds and resources to take them down."

"Fine. You have a deal."

"Good. I will take my leave then," Ascott paused, then she handed Reyna a business card. "This is my address, just incase you need to contact me." Ascott stood up and walked out.

Reyna stayed and thought about what her next move was going to be. She stood and walked out into the chilled night air. Reyna took a deep breath, the rage relighting in her eyes as she steeled her heart.

It was time to hunt down those Alters.


	8. The Alchemy Maze

**A/N: And we're back! After far too long. But this is the best this is going to get. It's still terrible though. If you want just skip to the last line break and read from there. Of course that won't make much sense, but it's the only plot relevant part. Everything else is crap.**

 **Song: Strawberry Swing by Coldplay**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Ana, Jack, Savon and Naomi walked around the festival grounds outside Central City. It was the Elric Festival. After Mustang had been elected Fuhrer, he had created the holiday in honor of the Elric's defeat of the homunculi. So once year, Central turned itself into a giant fairground. There were carnival games, rides, numerous greasy food stands, alcohol, and a parade. But the greatest attraction was the Alchemy Maze.

The Alchemy Maze was new every year. It was designed by the greatest alchemical minds in Amestris. But it was much more than just a maze. The labyrinthian structure was divided into four sections. Each section was cut off from the others. In order to progress to the next section, the player had to solve a riddle.

No one had ever solved the maze; Ana decided to change that.

She dragged her friends to the entrance and announced her plan.

"This is a bad idea," Naomi complained.

"No, It'll be fun!" exclaimed Ana excitedly.

Jack spoke up, "I'm with Naomi on this. Why don't we go on a ride or-"

Ana interrupted him by grabbing his and Naomi's hand and dragging them into the maze. Savon gave a small chuckle and followed them in.

* * *

Within five minutes the group of four was completely, totally, and utterly lost.

"Where are we?" asked Savon glancing around.

"I don't know. In a MAZE maybe?" said Naomi irritatedly.

"Okay, okay. I get it; we're lost," Ana interrupted before things could escalate.

The maze itself was an alchemical creation. It was transmuted straight out of the ground on the first day of the festival, and deconstructed again at the end. The walls looked the same as the ground and there was no way to mark the path back to the entrance much less anywhere else.

The four started walking again and then Ana spoke up, "Okay. Let's think about this. There has to be some trick to this puzzle."

"What do you mean?" asked Jack.

"All puzzles have some sort of a trick to them. Mazes included. It's how they're solved," replied Ana. "If we figure out the trick then we can solve this. Anybody got a marble?"

The others just stared at her like she was crazy.

Ana sighed dramatically. "Okay. Any metal?"

Naomi pulled out her dogtags. "I have these," she said slowly. Naomi did not trust whatever Ana had planed.

"Perfect." Ana grinned, snatching the tags from Naomi's hand. She placed them on the ground and clapped her hands. Ana pressed her hands to the tags and when the transmutation was finished a small metal ball laid at her feet.

"What's that for?" asked Savon.

"I'm gonna see whether the floor is slanted," replied Ana.

"Why?" Jack questioned.

Naomi realised Ana's goal in this little experiment. "This maze is a type of labyrinth, which means the goal it to find the center. Sometimes the floors of the labyrinths are sloped towards the center. However, the decline is usually so minimal that it's unnoticeable. Unless, of course, you have a tiny ball which you can roll."

"Exactly." Ana beamed. She nudged the ball with her toe towards the direction they had come from. The ball quickly lost its momentum and rolled backwards toward the teens. It rolled to the end of the hall and bounced off the far wall and down the left passageway.

"C'mon! We can't lose it!" Ana shouted chasing after their little guide. The others quickly followed.

* * *

The ball finally stopped rolling when it met a large metal door. The four quickly came to a stop when they realised the ball was no longer rolling.

"Huh, can't believed that actually worked," commented Ana.

Savon approached the door. He looked at the door for a moment and then pushed. The doors did not move. "What the….?"

Naomi placed her hand against the door and sighed, "Savon, we've found the door, but we still have to solve the riddle."

"Oh...Right. I forgot," Savon said, abashed.

"Found it," said Jack. He pointed to the wall on their right. Written on it in black letters was:

" _I am odd._

 _Decapitate me and I am even_

 _Truncate me and I come last_

 _What am I?_ "

Ana read the riddle aloud. "So…. anybody have any idea what this means?" she asked.

Naomi gave her a death stare. "This was your idea, genius. Why don't you tell us?"

Jack began an attempt to stop the girls from fighting, when they were all interrupted by Savon's shout.

"Seven!" he shouted gleefully.

"What?" asked Jack, blinking as if Savon had just shouted something completely random.

"Seven," Savon repeated. "It's the answer."

Naomi narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Seven is an odd number. If you take away the "s", it spells "even". If you take away the "n" from "even", you get "eve" which is the last part of the day. The answer is seven," Savon explained quickly.

"It won't hurt to try," Ana said with a shrug. She stood in front of the door and clapped her hands. As she pressed them to the door, blue lighting carved out the word 'SEVEN' onto the door. The door slowly swung open, splitting the 'V' in half. The four teens quickly stepped through the open doorway and into the next part of the maze.

"Now what?" asked Jack.

"Now we find the next door," Ana explained matter-of-factly. She dropped the metal ball. It rolled slowly and simply came to a stop.

"Why isn't it working?" asked Savon, nudging the ball with his foot.

"No idea," said Ana as she crouched down to look at the round object.

Naomi sighed. "Obviously the same trick won't work twice," she said.

"Well then we need a new trick," concluded Jack.

"We could unravel some string," Ana mused.

"And where would we get that?" Naomi drawled.

All eyes turned to Naomi's scarf. She was confused for a moment as to why, but then it dawned on her.

"No. No! Absolutely not," she shouted. "I'm not giving up any more-"

Ana picked up the ball and transmuted it back into Naomi's dog tags. "Here," she said, holding the tags out to Naomi. "We can make a trade; the dog tags, for your scarf."

Naomi sighed in resignation, deciding that the dog tags were more important. "Fine," she stated tersely, accepting the trade. Naomi handed over her scarf and Ana gave over the tags. Ana clapped her hands and the scarf was gone, replaced by a pile of yarn.

* * *

It took them a good while, almost two hours, but they eventually found the second door. It looked the same as the first. On the wall was the riddle.

" _Soaring, smashing,_

 _Power, crashing,_

 _Thunder, lighting_

 _People fighting_

 _Limbs are swinging_

 _Hands are meeting_

 _Dying, singing_

 _Tune that's ringing_

 _Blinding._

 _What am I?"_

"Interesting," commented Naomi. "Another 'what am I?' riddle."

They were silent for a moment then Naomi asked, "Any ideas?"

"Alchemy maybe?" mused Savon.

"No, that wouldn't fit," said Jack. "'Hands meeting'? It just doesn't work."

"What about Ana? Her hands 'meet' when she uses alchemy," countered Savon.

Naomi interrupted before the boys truly started fighting. "Jack's right. Why would the creators make the riddle so specific to one person? It doesn't make sense. Any other ideas?"

"What about 'the heart'? Or maybe 'love'?" suggested Ana.

"Love?" asked Jack incredulously.

"Yeah," said Ana, growing excited as she explained. "Soaring, smashing, power, crashing, dying, and singing. Those are all words that could describe a person's love ."

"What about the fighting part?" asked Savon.

"Lovers fight," replied Ana. "Thunder, lighting are emotional turmoil. The hands meeting represents new love and love is said to be blind."

"Try it," Naomi shrugged.

Ana placed the ball of yarn on the ground. She clapped her hands and pressed them to the door. Once again the answer carved itself on to the door. It swung open slowly revealing the third part of the maze.

They walked through the door. That was when they realized, they did not have enough yarn to map out the next section.

"Okay people," commanded Ana. "We need a new trick."

"We could try the ball again," suggested Jack.

"If it didn't work in the second section, it won't work now. The creators are too clever for that," commented Naomi.

"We could try placing a hand against a wall and traveling that way," said Savon.

"We're in a labyrinth. That won't work," replied Ana.

"Why not?" asked Savon.

"Because," explained Ana, "that method assumes that there is an entrance and an exit. But a labyrinth only goes one way. The entrance is the exit. You would end up walking in circles."

"That shouldn't matter though," said Naomi. "The maze is divided into sections and each section has start point and an end point. So the maze as a whole is a labyrinth but each section is its own maze."

"Hmm. I never thought of it like that. You're right," agreed Ana.

"Well then let's go," shouted Jack gleefully as he started running with his hand on the wall.

* * *

They made it to the third door without a hitch. It took them almost an hour, but they made it.

"Okay. Let's do this," said Naomi with a happy smile.

Ana grinned back. She was happy that Naomi had finally decided to act her age. Ana read the riddle aloud:

" _What is greater than God?_

 _More evil than the devil?_

 _The poor have it, the rich need it._

 _And if you eat it you'll die_

 _What is it?"_

"Let's think about this logically," said Savon. "Greater than God, More evil..."

"I don't get it. None of the riddle makes any sense," stated Ana.

"You're giving up already?" asked Naomi incredulously.

"This riddle is ridiculous!" shouted Jack. "Nothing is greater than God or more evil than the devil."

Ana's eyes lit up. "Wait. Jack! That's it! Nothing!"

"Nothing what?" asked a confused-looking Jack.

"Nothing is greater than God or more evil than the devil," she explained excitedly. "The poor have nothing, the rich need nothing, and if you eat nothing you'll die!"

"Good job," congratulated Savon, slapping Jack on the back.

"Uh...Thanks, I guess," replied a still bewildered Jack.

Ana used her alchemy to carve the answer on to the door. They traipsed through the now open doors.

Savon placed his hand against the wall and started walking. But he stopped when Naomi called after him.

"Savon," she called. "That's not going to work. Remember?"

"Oh right," Savon said wearily. "'Cause we're looking for the middle now."

"So what's the new plan?" asked Jack, wanting to start moving again.

"We could try marking the walls," suggested Naomi.

"With what?" asked Ana.

"I don't know. This was _your_ plan," snapped Naomi.

"I didn't have a plan," Ana responded. "I've never done this before."

"That doesn't matter now," Jack intervened.

"Hey Ana," Savon called. He was examining the doors. "What are these doors made out of?"

Ana approached the doors. She glanced over them and said, "Iron. Why?"

A maniacal grin appeared on Savon's face. "Because now we can make a magnet."

"What good will that do?" questioned Jack.

Naomi figured out Savon's train of thought and explained, "Since iron is magnetic, a large enough magnet will be able to lead us to the last door. But we don't have anything magnetic."

"Actually….," Savon admitted, slightly abashed, "I have a magnet." He pulled a small square magnet from the back pocket of his pants.

"Okay, that's great. But that's too small to be useful," commented Jack.

"But that's where this door comes in," said Savon excitedly. "If Ana transmutes part of the door and this magnet together-"

"Then we have a large enough magnet to lead us to the next door!" Ana finished with enthusiasm.

* * *

By the time they reached the last door, they were exhausted. It was near two in the afternoon and they had started at ten.

"I'm hungry," complained Savon as his stomach rumbled loudly.

"Suck it up," Jack frowned.

"You can eat after we solve this riddle," said Ana.

" _Crimson rivers running ragged,_

 _Scabbing over, thick and jagged,_

 _Over sides so lifeless now,_

 _Comes the tide and in its brow,_

 _Is the seed,_

 _Which in the spring,_

 _Fills the need,_

 _And brings the green,_

 _Beauty from what once was dead,_

 _Then they come, the rivers red."_

"Okay...That's weird," commented Savon.

"Yeah," Jack said slowly.

"What's it even supposed to mean?" asked Ana in wonderment.

"I have no idea," the boys said in unision.

Ana sighed. "You have any idea Naomi?"

"Let me think," Naomi snapped. She was frustrated that everyone but her had solved one of the riddles. This one was hers.

"Blood?" suggested Jack.

Ana nodded her head considering it. "Maybe but what about the green?"

"I GOT IT!" shouted Savon. "Salmon spawning!"

Ana and Jack looked at Savon as if he had just grown antlers.

"Umm….no. I think blood is a better option," said Ana slowly.

"Aww. C'mon," whined Savon. "You didn't even let me explain-"

"Volcano?" Naomi muttered.

"What?" said Jack turning to Naomi.

"I think that's the answer. Volcanoes," said Naomi.

"Okay. But why?" asked Ana.

"Crimson rivers is lava. Scabbing refers to dried lava," explained Naomi. "Volcanic ash is also said to be the richest soil on earth, the green. When the crimson rivers return, it means the volcano erupted again."

Savon nodded in agreement. "Better than my idea. Try it, Ana."

She did. The doors swung open to reveal the center of the maze.

* * *

At the center of the maze stood a stone pedestal. Atop it, was a gold plated trophy, meant for the solver of the maze.

Ana walked up to the pedestal and picked up the trophy. All of a sudden the ground started shaking violently.

"Get down!" Naomi shouted, dropping to her hands and knees. The others followed her lead.

Ana dropped the trophy and started to crawl towards her friends. Suddenly the ground behind her slowly started to give away and red lightning sparked around the edges. She screamed as she felt the ground beneath her legs give out and her body hit the side of the growing pit.

Ana quickly started to slide down the smooth side of the pit as she lost her grip on the edge as the earth beneath her hand disappeared. She heard her name called out and then saw a shadow as Jack jumped in after her.

Ana hit the ground and everything went black.


	9. Mind, Body, Soul

**A/N: Happy New Year! Iron Rose is back, baby! Anyway, I should let you know that I don't make resolutions because I don't like failing, so you won't be getting an update schedule! Lucky you!**

 **However, I do believe in starting the new year off right. And that means a near death experience!**

 **Chapter song: Search & Destroy by 30 Seconds to Mars**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

When Jack woke, he found himself surrounded in darkness. It was as if the earth had swallowed him whole. He picked himself off the ground and called out, "Ana? Ana! Can you hear me?"

He heard a groan and then Ana's groggy response. "Jack? Is that you?"

"Yeah. It's me."

"Can you get a light going?" she asked slowly.

Jack pulled out his lighter and flicked it open. He grew the flame until they could see each other's faces.

"There we go," said Ana, going into her commander mode. She looked upward, confirming what she originally suspected, the maze had been some sort of trap. Why it was a trap and who had made it was a mystery, but Ana refused to give in.

She clapped her hands and pressed them to the wall. Nothing happened.

"Okay….That's weird?" She tried it two more times. "Why isn't it working?" she growled.

"What are you trying to do?" asked Jack.

"Open a hole in the ceiling."

"Oh….right." He paused. "It's not working."

"That's what worries me," she muttered. Louder, she said, "Okay, we may need a backup plan. Shine the light around the wall."

Jack began to look around at the smooth stone sides of the pit. In a few moments he discovered a small tunnel, leading further underground. He attempted to tell Ana, but she was distracted by her own investigation of the trap. She clapped her hands, pressing them against the wall. A faint blue light appeared in the tunnel, but quickly died as Ana's transmutation failed again.

"Okay….That's weird," Jack said slowly. "Ana, I'm going inside."

Not turning around, Ana simply hummed in agreement. She only realized he was gone when the light grew too dim for her to see.

"Jack?!" she shouted, slightly panicked. Ana finally saw Jack and his light inside the tunnel. She ran up to him. "What are you doing?"

"Investigating. That's what you wanted isn't it?"

"Well….Yeah. But-"

"Nevermind. Look what I found." Jack pointed to the wall blocking the end of the tunnel. On it was a large transmutation circle.

The circle was very complex. Inside was a heptagon and various alchemical symbols were located inside each point. Inside another circle in the center of the heptagon, was the alchemical symbol for fixation.

Ana recognized the circle as some type of alchemy prevention circle. Her dad had been working on one fifteen years ago for Mustang's alchemist prison. But this did not look like her father's. Nor did it seem to function like his either.

Ana clapped her hands and placed them on the ground. The circle glowed and the wall moved farther down the tunnel. "Interesting. That wasn't what I wanted."

"What were you trying to do?" asked Jack.

"Dig a pit," said Ana nonchalantly. "Whatever this is, it's messing with my transmutations. Though the real question is why isn't it affecting yours?"

"What do you mean?"

"You use alchemy to alter the flame from your lighter. It's not being affected by the circle. Why?"

Jack nodded. "That's easy. I don't use clapping alchemy."

"I hope that's not the reason," Ana muttered.

"Why?"

"Because that means this is a set up. And without my alchemy we can't get out of here."

"Don't worry. I told Savon to get help before I jumped in after you."

"How is Savon supposed to get people down here? Much less find us afterwards?"

"I didn't think that far ahead…." Jack admitted.

Ana sighed.

"Anyway, what do you think is behind this wall?" asked Jack, pressing his ear to the wall.

"Probably a trap," Ana stated sullenly. "But we aren't getting out any other way." She clapped her hands and pressed them to the transmutation circle. Blue lightning flashed violently. A large explosion flung Ana back down the tunnel and filled the air with dust.

Jack coughed and called out for Ana. He waved at the dust, trying in vain to clear the air. "Ana?"

"I'm okay," Ana coughed out.

When the dust finally settled, Jack peered around the pile of rubble that had been the wall. The explosion had thrown stones everywhere.

"There's more tunnel," Jack said helpfully.

Ana sighed. "Great."

* * *

They had spent almost twenty minutes wandering around the tunnels. They had stayed within the main one even though they had found numerous smaller side tunnels. Ana had wanted to investigate some, her curiosity getting the better of her, but Jack reminded her of the danger they were probably in. As helpful as Jack was at that time, he was now beginning to grate on her nerves.

"What time is it?" asked Jack.

"Two minutes after the last time you asked," snapped Ana.

"Oh...Well at least we-"

"Be quiet."

"Huh?"

"Shh…." she whispered.

From behind them in the tunnel, they heard a faint roar.

"Did you hear that?" whispered Ana.

"Yeah. That's weird," Jack whispered back. "There shouldn't be roaring animals in tunnels."

"Definitely not."

Now soft thumps could be heard. Another roar came, louder and closer than the first.

"What do you think it is?" asked Jack, scared.

"I've got no idea. It doesn't sound like any creature I've ever heard."

The creature padded into view and the two teens froze. The monster was some type of chimera. Ana suspected it was a cross between a lion and a tiger.

Was this the trap? Did someone want her dead this badly? Ana did not think she had made too many enemies during her time as a State Alchemist. Maybe Lori was back, this being a chimera and all.

The dead silence was broken when the chimera roared once more. The noise startled Ana and Jack out of their stupor. They ran down the tunnel, the chimera chasing after.

* * *

The chimera followed them down various passageways, none large enough for the two teens to turn and fight. The two saw a bright light ahead of them and ran even faster. This was their best chance to take out the chimera.

Ana and Jack ran straight into a brightly lit room. They slowed down to allow their eyes to adjust. The chimera stopped at the door.

Hands shot out grabbing Jack by the arms. He struggled, panic lighting in his eyes.

"Let me go!" Jack shouted.

His shout caught Ana's attention. She was a little ways off, almost in the middle of the room. Ana clapped her hands and almost touched the floor. She stopped, her hand inches from the floor, when she noticed the markings.

A large circle covered the floor. Two pentagrams, one inverted, laid inside the circle. Another circle was drawn inside the pentagrams. At each point of the inside pentagram, stood a glass cylinder with a metal faucet. The tubes were filled with a strange red liquid.

One of the men who had caught Jack forced his hands behind his back. The others surrounded the transmutation circle Ana was standing in. They pointed their guns at her.

"Stand up," one of the men men commanded, "slowly."

Ana did as she was told and held her hands above her head for good measure.

After a few moments of silence, Ana asked timidly, "What is all this?"

"I'm glad you asked," said a voice from another tunnel. A man quickly walked into the room. "This is my greatest experiment: turning a single soul into a self-sustaining Philosopher's Stone."

Ana lowered her hands, stunned. "Who are you?"

"Dr. Jezeb Locke," he said with a slight bow.

"And what are you doing again?" asked Jack, bewildered.

Locke sighed. "Children don't understand science! You see, my boy, I'm going to create a living Philosopher's Stone."

"How?" asked Ana, her curiosity once again getting the better of her.

Locke beamed. Finally someone was actually taking interest in his work. Well someone besides that strange white-haired young man. But he did not actually count seeing as he was the one who gave Locke the project in the first place

"See this red liquid?" Locke gestured to the containers. The teens nodded slowly. "That is a chemical formula of my own creation. It's essentially a Philosopher's Stone minus the soul bit, of course. However, it's not as powerful as the real thing, which is why I need her." He gestured to Ana.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Ana exclaimed. "Why me?"

"Your father, of course," cackled the doctor. "He was the first person to turn himself into a Philosopher's Stone of his own volition. Not to mention your grandfather. He was alive for thousands of years due to the Elixir running in his veins."

"That's ridiculous! He never said anything about that to me!"

"That doesn't make what I'm saying untrue."

"I'm not my father," Ana said, bristling at the attacks on her family.

"But you share his blood. And that's enough to make this work." Locke gestured to one of his men. "Release the compound," he commanded.

The red liquid poured out of the container. The man moved on to the next cylinder. Locke opened the faucet closest to him. The liquid seemed to have a mind of its own. It did not splash like water. It acted more like any melted metal: half solid, half liquid. It moved slowly. Ana backed away from it in fear.

Three shots rang out in the small room. One of the containers shattered, sending glass shards flying and the red water spilling everywhere.

The goons, startled by the gunshots, released Jack's arms, fleeing the room in a panic.

Jack turned to see Savon, Jaroue, Naomi and a frozen lion-tiger chimera in the doorway.

"Ana! Jack!" Savon shouted. "C'mon!"

Jaroue's radio crackled to life. He listened as the voice on the other end issued instructions. "Yes. I understand," he responded. "Okay kids, time to get out of here."

Jack hurried over to the door. He glanced behind him to see that Ana was not following. He called to the others. "Wait!"

Ana looked absolutely terrified. She stared at the water as if it was acid. As if it would kill her on contact. It scared Jack to see her so frightened.

"Ana, come on!" Savon shouted.

"Just jump!" Jack yelled.

Ana did. She took two steps back, one step forward and leaped.

She almost made it.

The back heel of her left boot landed in the red water. Red light filled the room. Ana screamed in pain.

"Yes! It worked!" yelled the madman.

Naomi fired her gun. The bullet hit the evil doctor in the chest. He fell to the ground, blood pooling around his dead body. The blood mixed with the water, dissolving the body.

Power radiated from Ana. It came off her like wind in a hurricane, pushing everyone back from her. Red lightning danced around the room. Whatever it touched, changed form. A bolt hit Ana's hair and it changed from red to gold. The walls became riddled with spikes, holes and beams. The structure of the room was starting to fall apart.

"We have to get out of here!" shouted Jaroue over the noise of the chaos.

Naomi shouted back, "My job is to protect Ana. I can't leave her here!"

Naomi turned towards the alchemical storm that had begun to form around Ana's body. The young alchemist had not moved since she touched the water. It was as if the time around her had stopped.

Naomi stepped forward into the chaos. She fought her way to Ana dodging the bolts of alchemy. She reached out for Ana's wrist but was pushed away by a sudden gust of wind. Naomi stood up again, gritting her teeth. She only had to take a few more steps until she was close enough to grab Ana's wrist.

The moment she did, Ana unfroze. She turned her head towards Naomi. The older girl was shocked to see Ana's left eye glowing blood red.

"Naomi?" Ana whispered.

Naomi pulled Ana into a tight hug and the storm died. Ana collapsed in her arms.

Without the raging storm the room settled and no longer seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Naomi carried Ana, piggy-back style.

"Come on, girl," she whispered, so low no one could hear. "Let's go."


	10. Double Edged Sword

**Should have doe this at Chapter 2 & 4, when I used real characters, but I didn't so here we go.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any characters created by Hiromu Arakawa.**

 **In other news teaser for my chapters can be found two days before the official release date of my chapters. My tumblr is: IronRoseAlchemist**

 **Chapter song: Goodbye, Apathy by OneRepublic**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Ana woke up in a hospital bed. This was accompanied by a pounding headache.

She was alone in the room, which surprised her. Whenever she woke up in hospitals Naomi was alway there. At first it was creepy but after the first five times, Ana had gotten used to it.

Ana attempted to sit up but her head protested violently and she fell back. A lock of hair fell into her face. Ana noticed it was gold. She sighed in annoyance. As she pushed it back, her hand brushed her face over her left eye. Well should have brushed over her eye, but there was something covering it.

Ana reached up and ran her fingers over what she assumed to be an eyepatch or a bandage.

Wait, bandage….?

Eyepatch!?

Ana screamed.

* * *

Jack and Savon had finally managed to drag Naomi away from Ana's bedside. The girl had an absurd sense of loyalty.

It had been two days since they had rescued Ana and Jack from the underground lab and Naomi had barely eaten. She had refused to leave the room, opting instead to worry and pace back and forth.

The three teens were currently in the hospital cafeteria eating lunch. No one spoke.

When they heard the scream, Naomi shot up from the table. She dashed to the doors.

"Naomi!" Savon called, chasing after. "Where are you going!?"

"That was Ana!" she hollered back. "Who else would scream in a hospital!"

* * *

When Naomi reached the room she found Ana and a few doctors trying to calm the young girl down.

When Ana saw Naomi, she nearly sobbed in relief. "What's going on? What happened? Why am I here?"

Naomi frowned. "You don't remember?"

Ana blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

By this time Savon had arrived. Ana demanded clarification but Naomi quickly shut her down.

"I'll answer any questions as soon as the doctors are done," she said.

The doctors gave Ana a quick check up. They said everything looked fine and that Ana could be discharged tomorrow. They also explained that Ana's eye was fine and intact, however, it would have to remain covered for the next few days. The doctors did not know how or why but the eye had reverted back to normal a few hours after Ana arrived at the hospital.

Jack arrived by the time the doctors had finished, and then it was just the four of them.

"So…." Ana asked, "what happened?"

Only Naomi would meet her gaze as they told her what had happened in the underground laboratory. At first Ana was silent, then she looked away from them and curled up on the bed. Her friends did not know what to do. It was as if someone had hit the girl's shutdown switch and turned her off.

Savon reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder. It was intended to comfort Ana but she jerked away and moved farther from the rest of them. Naomi pulled Savon away and led him and Jack out of the room.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Jack, concerned. "Did we do something?"

"No," said Naomi sadly. "She just needs time to process what we told her."

* * *

The police came next. They wanted to talk to Ana and get her statement. She refused to talk to them. They would ask her questions but she just kept her lips sealed and laid on her bed.

Naomi attempted to get Ana to speak to her and eventually Ana caved. However, as soon as the topic turned to what had happened at the underground lab, she would clam up again.

After Ana was released from the hospital, she was swarmed by reporters. They were all trying to get the "victim's" side of the story. Jack and Naomi attempted to keep them at bay while Savon got Ana to the car that would take them back to her apartment. Once they were there, the four teens quickly rushed up to Ana's room.

They stayed for a few hours but went home after Ana made it clear that she was not in the mood for company.

* * *

All of a sudden a knock came from the door. Ana tore her eyes away from the book she was reading and called out, "Hello?" She was confused. Her friends had left fifteen minutes ago. It was probably more reporters.

The knock came again and she sighed and walked to the door. She opened it to find her uncle and aunt.

"Uncle Al! Aunt Mei!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, we were in town and decided to come for a visit," said Mei cheerily.

"Why?" asked Ana.

"Your father told us you were in Central under the alias "Edwards", and when we saw the news and heard you were hospitalized, we decided to visit," explained Al.

Ana was shocked. "But how did you find me?"

"As you know, Mustang's an old family friend. We just called him up and asked," stated Mei as if calling up the Fuhrer was the most normal thing in the world.

"All the reporters outside the building helped too," commented Al.

An awkward silence fell over the three. The type of silence that can only fall between extended family.

It was broken when Al asked, "Ana, why were you in the hospital?"

Ana bristled. "I don't want to talk about it," she said coldly.

"Well we do," stated Mei.

"It's not like I haven't been a hospital before," Ana snapped.

"We read the reports," explained Al. "They made it sound as if you were targeted."

Ana opened her mouth to retort but nothing came out. She stood there. At first she looked angry, but as she processed what he had said her expression fell. She looked scared.

"Ana," Mei said soothingly, "talk to us."

Ana shook her head furiously and curled into a ball. Mei reached out to comfort her niece but Al stopped her.

"Mei, can you wait outside? I want to talk to Ana alone," he said.

She looked at him curiously, but nodded. As soon as she was gone, Al knelt down to where Ana was curled up on the couch.

"Ana, look at me," he coaxed.

She raised her head until he could see her eyes. Ana mumbled something from behind her knees.

"What was that?"

"I'm scared," she said quietly.

"Of course you are. I'd be much more worried if you weren't. That was a traumatic experience. Do you want to talk about it?"

Ana started crying. She unfurled and latched on to Al's shirt. Her tears quickly soaked the fabric of his shirt and the bandage.

"He said that Dad was a 'living Philosopher's Stone'. He thought that I could be one too," she said after she calmed down. "What did he mean?"

Al looked into his niece's eyes he wanted to reassure her and say that everything was going to be okay, but he knew that would not help her in the long run. He remember when he and Ed had found out that Mustang had hidden Hughes's death from them. He did not want Ana to feel betrayed like that. Al decided to tell her about his and Mei's research.

"Ana," he said slowly, grabbing her attention. "I'm going to tell you something very secret. Can you keep it?"

She looked up at him questioningly, but nodded.

Al took a deep breath. "Mei and I have been doing research into the Philosopher's Stones. As well as combining alchemy and alkahestry, with the help of Scar, of course."

"Why?" asked Ana.

"Well, back when your dad first became a State Alchemist, we met a little girl and her dog. Her father turned her and the dog into a chimera in order to renew his State license. Later on, we met more human based chimeras. Ed and I promised we'd fix them. Since he can't do alchemy anymore, Mei and I have been working on the project."

"But what does this have to do with the Philosopher's Stone?"

"You know that the main ingredient for a Philosopher's Stone is a human soul?" Ana nodded and Al continued, "Ed doesn't know this, but we've been looking into the Philosopher's Stone as a cure. It's supposed to work miracles. Through combining alkahestry and alchemy we've found something close to it."

"What do you mean by close?" Ana asked with interest. Al was surprised by how quickly the young girl's energy had returned just by talking about an alchemical theory.

"Fewer souls would be needed to create a full Philosopher's Stone. But that's not good enough; we have to find a way to need no souls."

"But what about the things that guy said about me and Dad being Philosopher's Stones?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure," Al said with a sigh. "But it intrigues me…."

Ana's face contorted in a mock frown. "Uncle Al, I refuse to be part of any of your evil science experiments."

Al laughed. "That's not what I meant."

A comfortable silence fell between them. Then Ana asked, "What should I do now?"

Al thought for a moment. "I think you should go back to Resembol."

"What?!" Ana exclaimed. "No!"

"Listen," Al said, trying to calm her down. "I mean that you need to talk to Ed about this. He's the only one who might have the answers about why that man was after you."

Ana thought about what her uncle was saying and concluded that he was right.

"I'll leave tomorrow," she stated.

* * *

Reyna stood up slowly as she approached the door to her motel room. The knock at her door had startled the small woman. She had not been expecting any guests. However, the knocker simply slipped a letter under her door and left quietly.

Reyna picked up the letter and examined it. It was from that woman she had met in that Central bar, Danielle Ascott. She ripped it open and read the information inside.

The information was a report on a sighting of Bernard Alter in Lizberth, a large city near the border of Amestris and Drachma. The report detailed that Mr. Alter had appeared in a grocery store buying enough food to last two people a good week or two. They wouldn't be leaving Lizberth any time soon.

Reyna smiled coldly. Kill the husband and then the wife. And anyone else who got in her way.

* * *

Rackem found it very strange that there had been no sightings of the Alters in almost three weeks. The last time she had any sort of lead was when someone had found their car but that was days ago. It was found on the outskirts of Roth, a decent sized city on the border of Central and the West.

At first, she had assumed that the Alter's would be heading south from there, towards Creta. Creta had stricter rules concerning the practice of alchemy but they were always in need of new chimeras to put in their gladiator games. Lori's skills would be in great demand. But Jaroue had pointed out that there was an equal chance of them trying to get into Drachma. It was incredibly difficult for Amestrians to get into Drachma as the two countries were in the middle of a cold war, but there was a chance the Alters would go that way. Drachma was definitely the safer pick of the two counties. Amestrian police would not be able to retrieve the two if they decided to go there.

* * *

Lori was exhausted. She and Bernard had been on the run for almost three weeks. They had made it to city of Lizberth. Lori hated the place. She despised the hustle and bustle of city life. She loved the open space and quietness of the country. It was Mustang's little brat who had ruined that for her. Well, him and that horrid Kiev woman. It was not Lori's fault that the woman could not keep hold of a child.

Bernard was cooking in the kitchen. The house they were "residing" in had a modern kitchen with an electric stove and refrigerator. They were staying for five more days and then they were crossing the border to Drachma. Lori knew that the Drachmans would have no problem with her research. After all, that was where she got the human component for all her experiments.

When Bernard called that dinner was ready, Lori turned and walked to the kitchen. He had made a vegetable stew as well as biscuits. As they ate, they talked about where they would go once they got to Drachma. Usually Lori hated small talk, but she could bear anything for her husband. For some reason he was the only person whose pain did not amuse her.

Drachma was her chance at a "happy" future. She and Bernard would be safe from the Amestrian military and she could continue her experiments. Everything was going to be perfect.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello world! It's different talking to you down here but whatever. I'm cool with it...Emotional turmiol AND we get to see Al and**


	11. A Melted Soul

**A/N: And we're back with another update! As foretold in the previous chapter, we get to Ed and Winry as well as Ana's older brother here. Exciting!**

 **Chapter Song: Iridescent by Linkin Park**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Ana stepped onto the platform of the Resembol train station. To her surprise, Liam was there to pick her up. She expected Ed or Winry, not her brother. The only explanation he offered was that their parents were "busy". Whatever that meant.

Liam was three years older than her and was quite a bit taller than her. His hair was blond like the rest of the family, but he had Winry's blue eyes. Ana had always been a little jealous of her brother. He got most of their mother's attention and he had inherited her interest and skill in auto-mail. Winry had even taken him to Rush Valley for his 16th birthday. And then they got him a car! Liam had received his driver's licence at 17, a few weeks before Ana did her transmutation.

The car ride passed in silence. Ana and Liam had drifted apart after the transmutation. He had stopped speaking to her and no matter what she did he never said more than what was necessary.

They arrived at the house. It had not changed much in the four months she had been gone. The yard had, of course, seeing as she had left in the summer and it was now October. The house was still yellow and the paint of the porch was chipping off again. The flowers in the window boxes were wilting away. She wondered what they had done with her room.

Ana exited the car and approached the house. It was oddly quiet. Usually, the building was full of noise, whether it be the sounds of auto-mail or her mother yelling. Ed claimed that Winry had mellowed out over the years and if what he said was true then Ana never wanted to meet the Winry from 20 years ago.

Ana reached the porch when Liam called out to her.

* * *

Jack, Savon, and Naomi were lazing about in Jack's apartment. With Ana gone, they did not have much to do. She came up with most of the things the group did. Even if they were on an assignment, she was always the one with the game plan. It was not like they could not think of anything to do but they could never agree on anything.

Jack was bored. He sat on the couch, flicking his lighter open and shut, lighting a flame every time.

"Stop that," Naomi snapped. "You're going to set the room on fire."

"No I'm not," ground out Jack. "This is perfectly safe. I know what I'm doing." As he said this, his fingers slid over the transmutation circle etched on the side of the metal. A large burst of flame erupted in the room scorching the ceiling and catching the couch on fire. Savon rushed to the sink and turned the water on. Shoving his transmutation gloved hands under the water, he directed the flow to the burning couch, easily putting out the flames and soaking Jack.

"What was that for!?" Jack spluttered.

Savon grinned at him. "Your couch was on fire."

Naomi let out a small burst of laughter. Savon quickly joined in and soon the two teens filled the room with raucous laughter. Jack sat on the floor frowning at them.

* * *

"Ana!" Liam called a Ana reached for the doorknob.

"What?" Ana asked a tad harshly.

He looked annoyed. "They're planning to surprise you," he stated.

Ana blinked at him, confused. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I don't want you to flip out and attack someone," he stated dully.

She stared at him for a second more. "Thanks," she said quietly. Ana opened the door and flipped the lights on.

"Surprise!"

Even though Liam had told her about the "surprise" part of the party, Ana was astonished at how many people actually came.

Quite a few of her old school friends were there. Melissa, her best friend from grade school had shown up, as well as many others. Ana grinned in delight as her old friends swarmed her. They asked questions about Central and being a State Alchemist and Ana was happy to answer all of them.

After all the questions had been answered and things were starting to settle down Winry brought out two of her apple pies. Ana's face was starting to hurt from all the laughing and smiling she was doing, but her face broke into another happy grin at the sight of her favorite dessert.

Winry beamed at her daughter's overjoyed face. She had missed her daughter fiercely. It had been quieter in the house since Ana had left. Winry knew Ana was not going to stay very long but she wanted to make the most of her daughter's time with them.

* * *

Jack dashed through the ornate hallways of the Fuhrer's house. He could hear Savon's counting grow fainter as he moved farther away. The three teens were playing a game of "ultimate" hide-and-seek, Naomi's idea, in Savon's house.

Jack was all for it; he had not played this game in years. Playing it in the house of the most important man in the country made it even more exciting. Jack quickly found a hiding spot. Since there were no off limits areas, besides the Fuhrer's office and Savon's parent's bedroom, there was a lot of space to hide in. He wedged himself behind a bookcase and a couch.

Naomi, on the other hand, was against the location but by the time Savon arrived a the number seven, her competitive streak won over and she was running through the halls, searching for a hiding spot.

Jack did not know what to make of Naomi. The older girl was not easy to read like Ana. Ana just sort of "did" things. Naomi actually thought things through, made plans, and was generally more serious than any situation could ever call for. Savon seemed to shrug it off with being a soldier, but Jack thought it might be more than that.

The teen was snapped out of his thoughts as Savon entered the room. Jack froze and nearly stopped breathing. His heart pounded in his ears in anticipation. This game was more stressful then he remembered. He heard Savon pad around the room then leave. Jack let out a gasp of breath as his heart rate returned to normal.

"Gotcha!" shouted Savon as he pulled away the couch. Jack screamed, his heart racing once more.

"What was that for?" demanded Jack.

Savon could not respond. He sat on the couch Jack had been hiding behind, laughing his head off. "You should've seen your face!" he cackled. Eventually, Savon stopped laughing and was able to stand again.

Jack sighed in annoyance. "Let's just find Naomi."

* * *

Liam stood off to the side watching the goings-on in the living room. He was happy for his sister. Ana deserved the party, and Liam was glad she was enjoying it.

But she had not changed while she was gone. She had not noticed the stress her absence had but on Winry. The first week after Ana left, Winry had cried every night. His dad barely knew how to comfort her. Both Liam Ed hated it when Winry cried; neither truly knew how to comfort her. Liam worried that as soon as Ana was gone the whole cycle would start over again.

Ed clapped a hand on his shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Why aren't you over there?" Ed asked. "Enjoying the party with your sister?"

"I'm kinda tired," Liam replied sullenly.

Ed frowned. "Liam, I know that you and Ana haven't gotten along these past few years, but I want that to change. You both are incredibly different but you need to find some common ground."

Liam could not look his father in the eyes, but he nodded. "I'm gonna go upstairs."

Ed's hand dropped from Liam's shoulder as the young man walked away. Ed sighed sadly, but turned back to the party.

Winry had cut open the pies and everyone was digging in.

"Hey!" shouted Ed cheerfully. "Leave me a piece!"

* * *

Naomi darted around a corner and skidded to a stop. In front of her stood Colonel Rackem. Naomi's face flushed in embarrassment as her hero stared down at her.

"Officer Reed," said Rackem coolly.

That snapped Naomi out of her daze. She quickly saluted. "Colonel Rackem."

"Why, may I ask, are you here?"

Naomi's eyes widened in slight panic. "I was, um, looking for Savon. Why are you here, ma'am?"

"I was meeting with Mrs. Mustang," Rackem responded cooly.

"Why?' asked Naomi.

"She was concerned for Savon's well-being in regards to the Alter case," said Rackem with a frown. "Mrs. Mustang was worried that either suspect would come after her son."

"They haven't been found?" asked Naomi in a mild panic.

"No. We have no leads on Kiev or either of the Alters."

"But what about Ana and Jack?"

* * *

Ana stood in Ed's office, examining the shelves of books. She was looking for anything relating to the Philosopher's Stone or even her own family history. Ana pulled out a medium sized book labeled _The History of Alchemy_. She did not know what exactly was in it but it was a good place to start. She settled herself on the floor. Notebook open and pencil ready, she began to read.

After two hours of reading and note taking, the door creaked open. Ana glanced up and to her surprise Liam stood there.

"Hey," she said casually, returning her attention to the book.

"Hey," he replied.

There was silence for a moment and then Liam blurted out, "We need to talk."

Ana looked up at him again. "About what?"

"You, and all this. And Mom. And Dad."

Ana went back to her book as she asked, "What about them?"

"Well, um, Mom and Dad are really worried about you and, uh, so am I. I geuss?"

That caught Ana's attention. "You're worried about me? Why?"

"Why wouldn't I worry?! You're my little sister!"

"So? It's not like you've cared before."

"I have too," defended Liam.

"No. You haven't," said Ana rising to her feet. "After the transmutation you started avoiding me. You wouldn't talk to me and whenever I tried to talk to you, you left the room!"

Liam opened his mouth to retort but at Ana's glare, the words died in his mouth. He could see she was trying to hold back tears. Her bottom lip trembled slightly.

"You ditched me back then and I still don't understand why!" she shouted.

"You stole Dad," he said quietly.

Ana froze. "What?"

"After the transmutation you had all of Dad's attention," Liam stated quietly.

There was silence for another moment, and the Ana said, "But you always had all of Mom's."

It was at that moment that both siblings realized what had been going on. They had been jealous of their parents' attention. Each one had been appeared to be receiving more attention than the other, and they had been fighting over them like little children.

Neither sibling said anything for a few moments, then Liam broke the silence. "Ana, I'm sorry for ignoring you. I just didn't know how to deal with all that alchemy stuff. I just don't get it and-"

Ana interrupted his apology by crushing him in a hug. "I don't care what your reasons were. I'm just glad to have my brother back."

* * *

Savon peered around the corner of the hallway into the foyer. The boys had slowed their search when they heard voices coming from around the corner. They hid behind the wall and peered around the edge.

What they saw was surprising to say the least. Naomi was in a rather frantic discussion with Colonel Rackem.

"But what about Ana and Jack?" demanded Naomi.

"What do they have to do with this?" asked Rackem coldly.

"If Savon's at risk, then what about Ana and Jack?" Naomi clarified.

"I don't see how that's relevant."

"They exposed her. What if she comes after them?"

Rackem let out a small sigh. "Let me tell you what I told Mrs. Mustang: The Alter's current behavior indicates a desire to leave the country, not vengeance. The other suspect, a woman named Reyna Kiev, is revenge driven but her anger is directed at Lori Alter not any of your friends."

Savon glanced over at Jack, who appeared to be mulling this over in his head.

Jack came to a conclusion and whispered snidely, "So, Naomi does actually have feelings."

Savon gave him an unamused frown and clocked him on the back of the head.

"What was that for?!" Jack said loudly, hitting Savon back. Savon retaliated with jab to the chest. Jack caught it but threw both boys off balance and they came tumbling into the foyer.

The two women turned towards the scuffle with matching expressions of shock and surprise. Both women had their hands on their guns, but recognizing the boys, Naomi marched over and pulled them apart.

"You know," Rackem said, putting away her weapon as well, "eavesdropping isn't a trustworthy quality."

* * *

Ana walked nervously towards her dad's study. She did not really understand why she was nervous. Ed was always willing to talk with her.

The door creaked as she opened it. Ed's eyes shot up from the book he was writing in. They lit up when he saw her.

Ed's face broke into a large grin. "I see you've dyed your hair again."

"Well," said Ana, "I _am_ going back to Central tomorrow."

"Leaving already?"

"Dad, I've been here three days already!" She tried to sound teasing but it fell flat and Ed noticed.

"What's wrong, Ana?"

Ana could not meet his eyes as she asked, "What do you know about living Philosopher's Stones?"

Ed's eyes widened in horror but quickly narrowed in suspicion. "Where'd you hear that term?" he ground out.

Ana told him what had happened in the underground lab, about Locke and his experiment. Ed frowned during the entire story.

"If that man were still alive, I would kill him," said Ed when she was done.

Ana gave a small smile to humor her father. "But what about my question?"

"I'm not sure what it means in the long run but I know what he meant at the time." Ed pulled a small notebook out from the shelf behind him. He flipped it open. "The Philosopher's Stone. An object that supposedly can surpass the law of equivalent exchange. Constructed from human souls."

Ana nodded. She already knew all of this.

Ed flipped to a different page and continued, "Van Hoenheim. Lived for over 400 years due to a Philosopher's Stone attached to his soul. Living Philosopher's Stone." Ed snapped the journal shut and held it out to Ana. "This is all my research on the Philosopher's Stone. I don't know how much help it will be but you should have it anyway. Compare it with your own notes or whatever."

Ana met his concerned gaze with a happy smile. "Thanks Dad." She pulled him into a hug.

* * *

Ana stepped off the late morning train in Central Station. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the brightly lit space. The sun shone through the glass panes of the high arched windows.

"Ana!" shouted a voice to her left. She turned to see Savon waving at her from farther down the platform. With him was Jack and Naomi. Naomi was as stern and serious as ever but she broke a small smile when she spotted Ana. Jack was obviously bored. Ana jogged over to them, slipping in and around other travelers crowding the platform.

"Let's get out of here, shall we?" she suggested with a large grin. Jack and Savon returned it readily and Naomi rolled her eyes in amusement. _It was good_ , decided Ana, _to be back with her friends._


	12. Forge of Hope and Despair

**Hello, World! We have made it to the end of Arc 1: Conquistador!**

 **Warning: Murder**

 **Chapter Song: Thistles & Weeds by Mumford & Sons**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

When Bernard did not return to the house after three hours, Lori began to worry. He had only gone out to grab a couple pieces of warmer clothing. Drachma was cold, especially in the winter, which was only two months away.

After another thirty minutes, Lori set out. She knew it was not safe, seeing as she was a wanted woman, but she needed to make sure Bernard was not….

Injured?

Dead?

No. What Lori was worried about was that someone had touched what was hers. Had taken away something that she held dear. No one had found Kiev but Lori had never considered that the woman would continue on her deranged trail of vengeance.

Lori walked faster and faster until she was almost running through Lisbeth in search of her husband.

* * *

Reyna Kiev stood in the shadows of a tall building in Lisbeth. Her green eyes pierced the dark night, spying the older man attempting to sneak through the city.

"Found you."

* * *

Bernard was attempting to sneakily traipse through the city. He had already upset three trash cans, woke seven sleeping dogs and almost got ran over twice. But he was doing better now.

Bernard turned onto a dark side street. He was walking quickly, but froze when he heard a loud crash behind him. When he heard the woman's scream he turned, dropped the heavy winter coats he was carrying, and ran towards the clamor.

At the entrance of the dimly lit street a woman was crumpled. Bernard knelt down and started to help her up.

"Miss, are you alright?" he asked concerned.

The woman's long black hair and the shadows covered her face. "Yes, yes, I'm fine," she mumbled. She stumbled forward into the dark street. The petite woman would have fallen if Bernard had not caught her.

"You don't seem fine. You need-"

Bernard stopped speaking when he felt the blade enter his abdomen. The woman gave him push and he fell backwards into the wall. She stood up straight and pulled the knife out of his stomach.

"What-?" coughed Bernard as he held his stomach, desperately trying to stop the bleeding.

"Oh, don't worry. This has absolutely nothing to do with you," she said plunging the knife in again. She pulled it out and said, "But everything to do with your wife." Bernard tried to speak again, but she pressed a bloody finger to his lips and batted her eyes at him. "Shh. Don't speak. It might make me more angry than I already am. Your beloved Lori took everything from me. I'm just returning the favor."

With every sentence she pulled the knife in and out. In and out. Then she just stopped. Bernard could feel his blood soaking his clothes and pooling on the ground underneath him. He barely had the energy to lift his head to look her in the eyes. In those eyes he saw more fury than he had ever seen.

Bernard let out a gasp of breath and his heart stopped.

* * *

Lori ran through the streets of Lisbeth, tracing back the the path her husband would have taken back to the thrift store. She did not find him. She began to trace his path back to the house when she saw the footprints.

There were only a few. The person, a woman, Lori guessed, who had been making them had gone through a puddle and the heeled shoe prints quickly faded away. But what really interested her was that the earliest shoe prints came from the nearby alley and were made in blood.

Lori approached the alley slowly. She had to be cautious in case this was a trap or something. Lori turned the corner and what she saw nearly stopped her heart.

It was her husband.

Bernard.

Dead.

Blood soaked his shirt and pants. The red liquid pooled around his lifeless form.

And as Lori stood there, looking at the mutilated body of her husband, the one person she had ever cared about, the last vestiges of warmth in her heart froze over.

* * *

Ana was reading though Ed's journal. A lot of the information was new to Ana but very little had to do with her problem. One term that kept popping up however was the Promise Day.

Ana had heard Al speak of it once. When she was little he had told her the story of how he and Ed had saved the country from an evil alchemist who tried to steal everyone's souls. She knew it was real, but did not see its relevance to her own problem. It was worth looking into though.

Ana stood up and marched across the hall to Jack's room. She knocked loudly on the door and when he did not answer, she transmuted the lock and opened the door. She swiftly crossed the room and barged into Jack's bedroom where he was sleeping.

"Jack!" she shouted. "Wake up! We have things to do!"

Jack moaned and rolled over in this bed. Ana's face twisted in frustration.

"C'mon!" she said as she shook him awake.

Jack finally sat up. His hair was ruffled and all over the place. His wrinkled t-shirt rode up as he raised his arms above his head to stretch. He yawned and opened his blue eyes.

"What?" he asked grouchily.

"I need your help with something."

"Can't Naomi do it?" Jack whined.

"She's out of town. Remember?" said Ana.

Now that Jack's brain was moderately awake, he did recall the older girl mentioning that she was going to visit her family for the weekend. They lived about two hours away from Central by train. Naomi was not going to be back until late on Sunday.

"What about Savon?"

"He has alchemy practice of Fridays," Ana reminded him.

"Can it wait?" he groaned, still trying to get out of whatever it was Ana wanted him to do.

"No!" Ana said passionately. "Jack, this is about what that guy in the underground lab said."

That caught Jack's attention. He was still mildly worried about Ana's breakdown about the whole incident and now she was all in? It did not make much sense.

None the less, Jack hopped out of bed and started to get ready. "Give me 15 minutes," he said.

Ana left the room and went back to her own apartment. Jack took a quick shower and changed into a pair of khaki pants, a white undershirt, and a green button up. He slipped on his black working shoes.

 _It's still so weird to have such nice things_ , he thought.

Jack waltzed over to Ana's apartment. He found her surrounded by papers and notes. She was picking up some, discarding others, shoving the relevant ones into her back, and generally making a bigger mess of the place. Jack had never realized the extent Naomi had to go to keep Ana in line. He picked one up and was surprised to find a page from what looked like a diary.

"What's this?" he asked.

Ana looked up from the sheet she was looking at. "Oh, that," she shrugged. "It's probably just more notes on the Philosopher's Stone." Ana turned back to the floor. "Now where did I put that…." she murmured.

Jack looked at the paper in his hand again. It did not seem like notes if anything it was telling a story.

Ana looked up again, her eyes narrowed at the piece of paper in his hands. "Gimme that," she demanded. Jack quickly handed it over.

"Yep. This is it," she said, nodding her head. Ana stood up, shoved the paper into her large shoulder bag and headed toward the door. "C'mon Jack. Time to see Rackem."

* * *

Without any new information on the Alter's case, Rackem decided to send her own troops to the south. Neither she nor Jaroue truly liked the decision but without any new evidence, it was the best they had to go on.

Rackem herself stayed in Central. She was swamped with paperwork from her other cases and her conversation with Naomi kept playing over in her mind. It was not as if she had directly lied to the young woman, but she also had not told the entire truth.

Rackem was interrupted from her thoughts by her office door swinging open and crashing into the wall. Ana Edwards stepped in, followed by Slate, and Rackem's face quickly contorted into a frown.

"What do you want?" she sighed.

The girl appeared to be completely oblivious to Rackem's irritation. "Do you know where I can find the records room?"

Rackem was about to call for one of her officers to deal with the teens when she remembered they were all out on the Alter case.

"Central has hundreds of records. What are you looking for exactly?"

"An incident that happened about twenty- three years ago."

"What could you possibly want that happened back then?" Rackem asked, surprised.

"Alchemical research."

Rackem shook her head, but stood. "Follow me," she commanded.

* * *

Rackem lead them nearly across the Central Command Center to a wooden door that looked like all the others. There was nothing unique or special about the area. _But there wouldn't be_ , Jack supposed, _if they were trying to hide something_.

Rackem opened the door and called out. "Sheska? You in here?"

A muffled call came from behind the second door. Rackem sighed. "She's probably trapped under a pile of books again."

Ana and Jack exchanged a look of confusion. Ana had, at least, heard that name before, but she was surprised that the woman still worked here after all this time.

Rackem walked forward, opened the second door and pulled a woman in her late forties out from underneath several stacks of paper. "Edwards, Slate. This is Sheska. She started working here around the time your "incident" would've happened. She's rather talkative, but can easily be ignored."

"Hey," complained Sheska.

Rackem barreled on, "But you should find the information you're looking for here. Now, I have work to do. Good day." With that Rackem left.

The three stood there in silence for a short while.

"Well, we should probably get started?" Jack suggested.

That was all Ana needed to refocus on the task at hand. "I need whatever you have on the Promise Day."

Sheska's eyes widened in shock. "I-I-I'm sorry, b-but that information is restricted."

"What? By whom?" Ana demanded. Sheska recoiled in slight fear.

"The F-Fuhrer."

Ana snarled in anger. Jack placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ana, calm down," he said gently. "You're scaring her."

Ana looked over at Sheska who was practically cowering in fear. Ana's face fell in apology as she attempted to remedy the situation. Sheska accepted Ana's apology.

"It's okay. Really," she said after Ana had apologized for the hundredth time. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you."

Ana sighed in defeat. "Don't worry about it. We'll figure this out some other way."

The two teens turned to leave when Sheska called out.

"Uh, well, you could go to the Fuhrer and ask for the files," she suggested.

Ana's face broke into a mildly malicious grin. "Thanks. We'll do that."

* * *

Ana and Jack marched straight past Mustang's secretary and barged through the large oak doors into the Fuhrer's office.

"Fuhrer Mustang," Ana proclaimed loudly.

Mustang glared up from his desk at the interruption that was Iron Rose. Behind her stood Helios. The boy's face was flushed in embarrassment, probably more for Ana than for himself.

"Yes?" asked Mustang.

"I need the files concerning the Promise Day," Ana demanded.

Mustang frowned at the girl's directness. "Close the doors," he ordered. Once they were shut, he asked, "Why do you want to know about the Promise Day?"

Ana looked Mustang straight in the eyes as she replied, "I believe it may be connected to why I was targeted by that man."

Mustang's frown deepened. "What do you mean?"

"The man was talking about 'living Philosopher's Stones'. I, uh, _found_ some research notes on the Philosopher's Stone and many of them mentioned the Promise Day," Ana explained.

"I see." Mustang's frown did not lessen as he shuffled through his desk drawers, searching for something. He finally found it and held up a silver key. "This unlocks room 214, where the records on the Promise Day are kept. I suggest you look at the reports of the Elric brothers, Izumi Curtis, Van Hohenheim, Ling Yao and May Chang. I would tell you to look at mine, but I don't think it'll be much help."

Ana nodded and left. Jack followed quickly after.

* * *

The two alchemists found room 214 quickly. Ana used the key to open the door. Inside, they found a space that obviously had not been disturbed in several years. Dust covered every surface. Jack pulled on the string that connected to the overhead light and the room instantly brightened.

Ana immediately started scanning the filing cabinets that lined the walls. She quickly found the one she was looking for.

"Here we are," she said, pulling open the drawer. "1915, April." Ana pulled out several files and handed them to Jack. "Start looking for the names Mustang mentioned or anything that mentions the Philosopher's Stone."

They were thirty minutes into their search when Jack finally found something.

"Ana," he called. "I found Chang's report."

Ana grinned. "Good. I bet Curtis is in there too. Once we find all the reports we can start looking through them."

The two alchemists quickly found the rest of the documents they were looking for. Ana found Hohenheim's and Yao's, while Jack found the Elrics and Curtis. They began to read.

* * *

It took them a good two hours to look through all the reports. The Elric, Curtis, Chang and Hohenheim reports were the most helpful but they were also the longest.

As it turned out Van Hohenheim was an actual living Philosopher's Stone. But it seemed that that was not what the doctor in the lab was trying to do. From what Ana could remember the doctor was not trying to attach other souls on to hers, just make her soul into a Philosopher's stone.

Edward's report was the most helpful however. It mentioned a strange occurrence during the final battle with a homunculus called "Father". The report said that the homunculus approached Ed, calling the young alchemist a Philosopher's Stone. This stood out because Hohenheim was a Philosopher's Stone, so why would the homunculus not target him? Ed was trapped but that was not enough reason to target him over Hohenheim.

It did not explain exactly why she was targeted by it helped ease her mind.

Jack on the other hand, was completely lost. "I don't get it. Looking at all this information on the Philosopher's Stone is great and all, but what does all this have to do with you?"

Ana blinked. _That's right. He doesn't know that Fullmetal's my dad_ , she thought. "I'm not sure," she lied. "But I think we gathered everything we can get from this."

Jack immediately brightened. "We're leaving?"

"As soon as we put away all these files," Ana chuckled.

Jack quickly started cramming papers into random file folders.

"Jack!" Ana chided with a glare. "You can't just shove papers into any old folder."

The flame alchemist grimaced. "Fine." He started opening up the folders and picking out the different pages. As he was doing this, Jack noticed that some of the papers were newer than others.

"Hey, Ana?" Jack called over his shoulder. Ana's head popped up from where she was working. "Come check this out."

He handed her the pages. Ana peered at them curiously. Her nose scrunched up and her eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't get it."

"Look," said Jack pointing at each page in turn. "This one," he pointed to the Curtis report, "is whiter than the other. It's newer."

Ana's eyes widened as she realised what Jack was trying to tell her.

"These are forgeries," Ana said horror creeping into her voice. Then her face fell. "What if none of the information in there was right? What if…?" Ana growled and slammed the side of her fist into the wall.

Jack's face twisted into an expression of pity. His best friend, the person who rescued him, was lost and he did not know how to help her.

Ana closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again her expression was steeled. "Let's get his cleaned up."

Jack did not know what else to do, so he nodded and, once again, began to sort the papers.

* * *

When Rackem returned to her office, a file folder was laying on her desk. The tab was labeled _Alter, Bernard_.

She sat down swiftly and open the folder. Inside, several photos of a crime scene were paper clips to a few pieces of paper.

The photos were of Bernard Alter's dead body.

Rackem quickly scanned through the crime scene report. It detailed that Mr. Alter had been stabbed multiple times in the stomach and chest. In an alley in Lizbeth.

The colonel checked her map. She had sent her squad off in the wrong direction!

Rackem hissed in frustration. She checked the date, picked up her office phone, and dialed.

She heard the dial tone ring twice and then a soft, feminine voice picked up, "Hello. You have reached the Stevenson Hotel, {CITY} branch. This is Clara. How may I help you?"

"Hello. I am Colonel Rackem from Central Command. I need an immediate connection to a guest by the name of Blake Jaroue."

The receptionist quickly responded, "Of course, Colonel. He'll be with you in a moment." Rackem was put on hold while Jaroue was called to the front desk.

Soon her subordinate picked up. "Colonel, what's wrong?"

"The Alters went west, not south," stated Rackem.

"What?"

"Bernard Alter was murdered in Lizbeth last night. I just got the report."

"I'll take the squad up there then?" Jaroue queried.

He heard Rackem give a tired sigh over the phone. "No. Come back to Central. Lori has probably fled. We're back to square one."

"But Colonel-"

"No but's, Lieutenant," Rackem snapped.

Jaroue let out a dejected sigh. "Yes ma'am."

* * *

Three days later, Ana was called into the Fuhrer's office. She had no idea what for. Savon was not hurt. Jack had not been any sort of menace to society. And it could not be about Naomi. Naomi would never do anything bad enough to upset the Fuhrer. Naomi would a medal before that ever happened.

Ana pushed open the large doors to the Fuhrer's office and strode inside. Plopping herself into one of the plush chairs in front of the desk, she glared at Mustang as if daring him to speak.

Mustang completely ignored the act the young woman was putting on. "I'm sending you and your squad to Pitland Wood."

Ana sat up in surprise. "Where?"

"Pitland Wood. It's a small city close to the Amestris-Creta border. There have multiple sightings of slave caravans from Creta near the city and I want them gone. Do you think that you can accomplish that?"

Ana snorted. "Of course."

"Good. Your team will make a stop in West City on the way there and back. The West isn't the safest place for alchemists right now."

Ana rolled her eyes and nodded. "I got it, Mustang. Keep Savon not dead."

Mustang raised his eyebrows in annoyance. "It's Fuhrer, Iron Rose."

The young alchemist stood. "Whatever," said Ana flippantly. "I got break the news to my people." Once she was mostly out the door she called, "See ya 'round, Mustang."

The Fuhrer groaned.

* * *

 **IMPORTANT!**

 **If you did not understand what theory behind the Living Philosopher's Stone, PLEASE check out my tumblr. I'm going to explain the theory there. It's very important that you understand that before we move forward.**

 **My tumblr name is: ironrosealchemist**

 **It will be at least two weeks before the next chapter comes out. See ya!**


	13. The Wild West

**So... This old thing is back. A few days ago, I noticed that someone (you know who you are) choose to follow this piece. I want to thank you. You're actions have reignighted a passion in me for this story. Therefore I dedicate this chapter to all those who have followed and favorited this story.**

 **Welcome to Arc 2 everybody!**

* * *

 **Song: "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" - Coldplay**

* * *

 **Chapter 13 - The Wild West**

Ana, Jack, Naomi, and Savon had entered the West two hours ago. They were chugging along in the Western Express train to West City. At the moment they were listening to a woman speak over the radio.

" _Alchemy is a curse that has swept this country. It has torn our-"_

"Not this again," Jack complained. They had been listening to some western commander prattle on about the "dangers of alchemy" for about twenty minutes already and Jack was growing tired of it.

"Get used to it," said Savon tiredly. "This stuff plays all the time in the West."

"It does?" queried Naomi.

"Yeah. My dad talks about it sometimes. He says it's concerning, but that there's nothing that can be done about it right now."

The radio interviewer asked another question and without anything else to do the four tuned back into the talk show.

" _Almost twenty years ago this country was almost destroyed by alchemy. Twenty years before that, alchemy destroyed Ishval. The state alchemist program has been corrupted to the point that they allowed a twelve year old to enter…._

{LINE BREAK}

In the radio station, Ascott continued, "The Fuhrer is sending children to the front lines! We glorify alchemists when we should be locking them up for the dangers they pose to the citizens of our great country."

The host replied, "My goodness, General. You really are passionate about this aren't you?"

"I'm passionate about my country and protecting the people in it," Ascott stated.

"I completely agree with you, General Ascott. But our time together is drawing to a close. This has been Jeremiah Wall on 104.2, The Talk. Signing out," said the announcer. The On-Air signal turned off and the two exited the broadcasting room.

* * *

When the four teens stepped onto the train platform in West City station, they were greeted by a moderately sized, muscular man.

"Major!" shouted Ana excitedly. She reached out and grabbed his hand, shaking furiously.

The man grinned broadly. "It's nice to see you again, Iron Rose."

The other teens stared wide eyed at Ana and the Major's furious greeting. Ana noticed their shyness.

"Major," Ana exclaimed, "Have you met my friends here?"

The major smiled passively at the other teens. "No. I don't believe I have."

If it were possible, Ana's grin got even broader. "These are my friends, Officer Naomi Reed, Jack Slate, code name Helios, and Savon Mustang. Guys, this is Major Michael Douglas, the Living Metal Alchemist."

Savon's eyes lit up in recognition of the name. "You were in Rixwell Point."

Douglas nodded and the two shook hands. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Savon."

Savon was surprised that Douglas had not reacted at his last name. Usually, the word 'Mustang' would send any soldier scurrying for a commanding officer. Frankly, it was getting annoying.

As if Douglas read his mind, the major chuckled heartily. "I know you're the Fuhrer's son. But I believe that every person has to make their own way in the world. Without the influences of others. Honor and power must be earned."

It took a minute for Savon to fully process what exactly Douglas was saying. Once he did, however, his face broke into a delighted smile.

Naomi recognised Douglas as well. She saluted him and asked, "Why are you here, Major?"

"General Ascott assigned me to help guide you kids through the city. The West isn't exactly friendly towards alchemists right now."

"But aren't you an alchemist?" asked Jack, pointing out the silver pocket watch hidden in the pocket of his uniform.

Douglas let out a loud guffaw. "You got that right, my boy!" Once the man's broad shoulders stopped shaking from laughter, he said, "But I'm used to the city. And, unlike you, I know what places to avoid. Now, it's probably best we get going. We leave for Pitland Wood in the morning."

* * *

The major and the teens quickly left the train station and piled into the military issue car Douglas had brought to pick them up. There were only five seats in the car so Ana, Savon, and Jack all had to squeeze into the back. Savon had made a grab for the front seat but after one of Naomi's death glares, he hopped into the back.

Suddenly, Ana shouted, "STOP!"

Douglas slammed his foot on the brakes and Ana jumped out onto the sidewalk, slamming the car door open and shut. She started running down the sidewalk. Panicked, Naomi quickly shouted after.

"Ana!" she screamed. "What are you doing!?"

Douglas parked the car and the rest of the passengers got out. They all started jogging in the direction Ana had headed.

* * *

They found her a few blocks ahead, standing in front of a tattoo parlor.

"Okay. It's decided," she announced. "I'm getting a tattoo."

Ana made as if to open the door, but Naomi grabbed her hand.

"No you don't," she said adamantly. "You think you can just get away with jumping out of the car, freaking everybody out, and running off?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Ana. "I didn't do that."

"Do you even remember what Major Douglas said in the train station?"

"Which part?"

Naomi groaned. She opened her mouth to speak, but Douglas intervened, "Iron Rose, you aren't thinking about anyone but yourself. These people you're with are your comrades, your teammates, your responsibility. You can't afford to make reckless and impulsive moves in enemy territory."

"It isn't like that," Ana said defensively.

"Really?" demanded Douglas with a glare. "Then what is it like?"

"No! It's completely different!" Ana countered. "This isn't 'enemy territory' and no one's in danger."

"This city and most of these people are hostile to alchemists. You and two of your friends are alchemists. Nor are the people here supportive of Mustang, which doubles the threat to Savon. You don't even know if this place is friendly to alchemists or not."

"They wouldn't even have to know I'm an alchemist."

"You're practically flaunting that pocket watch. You-"

Douglas was cut off as Naomi pushed Ana to the ground. She caught the wrist of the man about to plunge a knife into Ana's back. Naomi twisted the man's arm down, his knife slashed across the skin of her upper arm, drawing blood. She shouted in pain, releasing his arm. As the man started to run, Douglas jumped into action. He grabbed the man around the waist and tackled him to the ground. The knife slid across the sidewalk, out of the attacker's reach.

Savon rushed to Naomi's side.

"Jack," he commanded. "Find a phone and call the police and a hospital."

Jack immediately rushed off the the nearest payphone.

Ana slipped out of her surprised stupor. She picked herself up and glanced around. A small crowd of curious onlookers had gathered around them. Douglas the attacker completely subdued. Jack was on the corner in a phonebooth. Savon was completely focused on Naomi, who was giving him instructions on how to bandage her bleeding arm.

Ana's face twisted into an expression of worry. "Naomi?"

Savon and Naomi ignored Ana. Savon's eyes were wide in fear and his corners of his mouth were pulled into a frown as he concentrated; Naomi's eyes, on the other hand, were twisted shut in pain and her jaw was clenched. Savon turned back to his work. Ana flinched when Naomi hissed in pain as Savon attempted to stem the flow of blood from Naomi's arm.

The sirens of police cars and an ambulance could be heard in the distance. Jack ran up and pushed through the crowd.

"I called them," Jack stated. "They're on their way."

No one felt like pointing out that they all knew emergency vehicles were coming because everyone could hear the sirens.

The military police stepped out of their cars. The crowd parted to let the uniformed officers through. Two grabbed the attacker and escorted him to a squad car where a third officer open the door and shoved the man inside.

One of the officers knelt by Naomi and tried to help Savon stop the bleeding.

The paramedics arrived quickly after, and Jack and Anna were escorted to a police car. Savon was allowed to stay with Naomi as the medics loaded her into the ambulance. All he had to do was state his name and they let him in. He felt mildly bad for using his dad's name to manipulate them, but Naomi was more important.

Three medics sat in the back with him. They hooked Naomi up to a sedative and a morphine drip to dull the pain. Her eyes quickly start to close as the drugs took effect. One medic took Naomi's pulse, while the other two continued to halt the bleeding. Then Naomi's world faded to black.

* * *

Naomi woke up to Savon, Jack, and a radio. She blinked a few times then tried to speak.

"Hey," she rasped. Her throat felt really dry. Jack and Savon lit up as they heard her speak. "Can I have-"

Savon anticipated her question because the nurse had told the boys that Naomi would probably be thirsty when she woke. He held up a glass of water. Naomi smiled and reached for it but stopped when she realized her arm was in a sling.

"They had to stitch it up. They don't want you moving it around and ripping the stitches, so the sling, " Jack explained awkwardly.

Naomi nodded in understanding and took the glass with her left hand. She took a long sip and sighed contentedly. Suddenly, noticing a missing presence in the room, Naomi glanced around.

"Where's Ana?"

* * *

Ana sat in the hardbacked chair in the hospital's waiting room. She was hunched over and held her head in her hands. The guilt that was gnawing at her was almost unbearable.

"This is all my fault," she murmured.

"You got that right," said a gruff voice beside her. Ana looked up to see that Major Douglas had taken the chair on her left.

Ana gave him a hate filled glare. "I don't think that's what you're supposed to say in these situations."

"I'm only telling the truth. " Douglas shrugged.

Ana turned around in her chair so her back was towards him. Douglas sighed. He knew that Ana was only acting like this because she was upset, but she needed this.

"Ana, turn around," he commanded. When she did not, he picked up his chair and placed it in front of her. She did not turn away again, but she would not meet his eyes.

"This is what I was talking about. When a leader does something reckless on the battlefield-"

Ana's head shot up. "Stop it," she said quietly.

"What?" Douglas asked.

"Stop comparing this to a war. Real life isn't all combat and battles." Ana stood as she spoke and her voice rose with each word until she was nearly shouting. "You make it seem like-"

A nurse tapped Ana on the shoulder. "Please be quiet. We have patients trying to rest."

Ana glared at the woman and stormed out of the waiting room. Douglas apologised for Ana's behavior and quickly followed after the younger alchemist.

She had stormed out of the building and was leaning against the wall of the white washed building with a scowl on her face.

"What was that?" he demanded.

"I don't know." Ana scowled at the ground.

"I do," Douglas said angrily. "That is exactly what I'm talking about. You're too impulsive, too rash, and this is exactly the kind of behavior gets people hurt. You claim that the real world isn't war and battles, well, you're wrong. We're both State Alchemists, dogs of the military. Our lives are war. That nurse was looking out for the patients in the hospital and you dismissed that as nothing. She could have been an ally but you ruined any chance of that because your feelings got hurt."

Ana did not look up, but her voice wavered as she said, "That's not it."

"Isn't it though?" Douglas pressed. "You got all caught up in yourself and somebody got hurt. The nurse, Naomi. Who's next, Ana! Who?" The major was yelling now. "If you don't start thinking about others, then when the battle's over, you'll be the only one left."

Ana crumpled. She covered her face with her hands to hide the tears she had refused to let fall earlier. Douglas was right. He had been right about everything from the beginning. She had not been thinking when she ran off. Naomi had been injured. Indestructible, Ana had called her once. Indestructible Naomi had gotten hurt and it was all because of her.

Douglas pulled Ana up off the sidewalk and helped her inside the building. He sat the young girl down in a chair and held her shoulder as she cried.

Once she got her breathing under control, she asked, "Is Naomi going to hate me now?"

The Major was not surprised that his was the first question Ana asked. "Let's go see her and find out."

* * *

Naomi pressed the boys for information. To their credit, they held up for almost two minutes under her acidic glare.

Savon caved first. "She's in the waiting room."

"Why?" asked Naomi.

"I don't know," replied Jack. "When you were brought into this room We asked her to come but she said she'd rather wait out there."

It may have been the drugs, but Jack's response enraged her. Naomi sat up quickly. Just as she was about to stand, however, the door to the room swung open. In strode Douglas, followed by a rather subdued Ana. Naomi continued to her attempt to stand, but the major promptly forced her back into bed.

A silence fell over the room. Naomi glaring unhappily, Jack and Savon nervously eyeing each other, and Ana looking as if she was going to run out of the room any second.

Douglas shattered the quiet with a heavy sigh. "Ana, get over here," he commanded.

She trotted over to Naomi's hospital bed. The older girl's glare only grew harder as Ana refused to meet her eyes. A moment passed, then Naomi exploded.

"What is with you?!" she shouted. "I save your life and you don't even want to see me?"

Ana's head shot up in offended shock. "That's not true!" she exclaimed. "I've been worried sick."

"Then why have you been avoiding me?" Naomi demanded.

"I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

"No!" Ana shouted, tears forming in her eyes once more. "I just didn't know how to face you! I still don't." Her gaze dropped to the floor and her voice to a whisper. "It's my fault you got hurt."

Naomi rolled her eyes. _Of course, that was what Ana was thinking._ "That's absurd. My job is to protect you. Letting you get stabbed would make me a failure."

"But we would've never been in that situation if I hadn't been so reckless."

"Ana, from the day I met you, you've been reckless. Most of those times, you're the one who ends up hurt. But here's the thing: no matter how perfect your plans are, people will still get hurt. It's a fact of life. So be reckless; I'm always going to be there to keep you safe."

Ana did not know what to say. She felt a weight lift from her chest and and she smiled. She pulled Naomi into a hug. The older girl gave a little laugh, which she later blamed on the drugs, and wrapped her good arm around Ana's back.

* * *

Lori stepped off the bus with a scowl on her face. The trip to West City was exhausting. She had met with the Lisbeth man who was supposed to provide her with a new identity, but that fell through. At least she still had the money she would have paid him. It rounded out to about 30,000 cenz. That amount would last her at least week.

Lost in her thoughts, Alter did not hear the clicking heels approach her from behind. "Dr. Alter?" questioned a voice.

Lori spun around to face a tall, dark haired woman. She glared at the newcomer suspiciously. The woman continued to speak. "My name is Danielle Ascott. I know who murdered your husband."

Lori froze. Her eyes rounded in surprise and shock then turned hard once more. "What do you know?"

"My employer wishes to speak with you," Ascott stated simply. She turned and began walk away. Alter followed cautiously. She knew the name Ascott. The woman was the general in charge of the West. As well as the strongest voice for the Anti-Alchemy movement. Ascott lead Lori to a dingy apartment building and quickly stepped inside. Alter followed the general to an flat on the first floor, close to the emergency exit.

Ascott opened the door and Lori stepped inside. The room was clean, but there was little furniture or decor. The door shut with a click and she stood alone in the room. Most people would be scared, she supposed. Being locked in a room by someone who thought you were the scum of the earth probably was not a good thing. She was not scared, however. She had her alchemy and could fight her way out if necessary.

She heard footsteps and immediately turned towards them. What she found, shocked her.

Ascott's "employer" was a young man. He looked to be barely twenty; it surprised her that a man so young would have a woman like Ascott under his thumb. He was tall, but not skinny. In fact, she could plainly see the muscles hiding underneath the light shirt he wore.

But his most striking features were above his chest. The young man's hair was copy paper white. That, accompanied by the paleness of his skin, Lori guessed he was some type albino - a few of her early failures had yielded similar results. However, that theory was abandoned as soon as she saw his eyes. They were an icy blue, enforcing the coldness of his gaze. There was no warmth in his demeanor. The man bore a greater resemblance to a corpse than a human.

He smiled at her and a shiver ran up her spine. It took her a moment to place the feeling; it was the fear missing from before.

"Ah, Mrs. Alter," said the strange young man.

"It's 'doctor'," she corrected, more by reflex than conscious thought.

"My apologies, _doctor_." Amusement and insincerity laced his tone.

"Who are you?" Alter demanded. "What are you? You certainly aren't human."

The man's freezing grin only widened. "I am a great many things, but you may call me Ovid."

* * *

 **Thanks again everyone who reads this. Feel free to leave me a comment in a review and tell me what you think.**

 **\- Iron Rose Writer**


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